Gimp Love

If you don’t know, Gimp is the free version of Photoshop and I love it! I have very little experience ever using Photoshop, but I use Gimp a ton and it’s great. I had some fun whitening teeth and brightening eyes of pictures I have taken.

In this pic, I whitened Hilary’s teeth. Much nicer right?

                     In this picture, I brightened my nephew’s eyes. It’s a subtle difference, but I think it looks cool.                      In this pic of myself, I brightened my eyes and whitened my teeth. Pretty cool!                        If anyone is interested in how I did this, let me know and I will post the links to the tutorials I referred to.

Obsession.

Anyone who knows me knows that I tend to get a bit obsessed with things. I kind of go through phases but I don’t think it’s really a bad thing. I get focused on one or a few things for awhile then eventually I move on and I may or may not keep doing that thing. For example:

-Making beaded watch bands
-Digital scrapbooking
-Cooking
-Crafts
-Home decor

I love all these things and I still do them, but for awhile, I really focus on one of them and become a bit obsessed. Anyway, my latest obsession is………

Food Storage!

Okay so I know that I’m a weirdo, but whatever. I just started thinking about food storage, and of course I go and google the crap out of it and find out everything I possibly can in a small amount of time, then I make tons of lists and plans and before I know it, I’m obsessed.

But really. In all seriousness, I think food storage is a good obsession to have. I think it came into my mind for a reason. Because it’s important.

"The best storehouse is the family storeroom..."Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing" (Doctrine and Covenants 109:8). ~President Gordon B. Hinckley (1910-2008)

So I have found some fabulous sites that are very helpful and I’m just starting slow but I’m really excited about it. The sites I have been referring to a lot are:

http://preparedldsfamily.blogspot.com/

http://providentliving.org

I have always been one to look at all the grocery ads each week and write down prices then price match stuff at Walmart :). So it’s not a big deal to keep an eye out for deals in bulk. I’m also making sure I’m only going to buy food we will eat. That way, I can rotate it through and actually use the food so it doesn’t go bad. I will probably get some things we won’t eat but will last 30 years for long term storage and we can just keep that back in the pantry.

We have an unfinished basement and like a lot of homes, we have a perfect food storage area under the porch. My mom is demonstrating it beautifully here. It’s nice because it is a long hallway and it also turns 90 degrees and is an L-shape. So we’re going to get some shelves and set up shop in here for now.In case anyone else is interested in getting started, here is what I have done so far. Using her amazing Case Lot Sale Price Comparison (here), I made a list of the items we will eat, along with the prices and stores that she listed with the lowest prices. That way, when I do buy something, I can refer to my list to see if what I’m about to buy is actually a good deal or if I should wait for a better price (from her list). Here is a part of my spreadsheet so far. For now I’m just going to focus on getting a good 72 hour kit for Dan and I and then start working on a 3 month supply of food. The church has started focusing on 3 month instead of 1 year because 1 year is really overwhelming for people. I made my own 72 hour checklist based on a few I found online and through the church. Here is a picture of it. If anyone wants a copy of some of the lists and stuff that I have, just let me know and I’ll send it. Also, leave me a comment and let me know your feedback on food storage. What works for you, what doesn’t, how you got started (if you have), and how you stay on top of it. Maybe I’m weird, but I get a strange excitement about buying food in bulk! I’ll probably update a few times on the status of my food storage obsession as it progresses. Stay tuned…

Song of the day (or week or month…)

Dan and I have religiously watched American Idol since David Archuleta was on and we love it. It's our guilty pleasure....don't hate.

Anyway, Didi Benami sang this song and I LOVE it! Kara Dioguardi (one of the judges) wrote Terrified and Didi sang it and it was awesome. So I found Kara singing it with Jason Reeves and I also love it! Check it out!

Kara and Jason:

Didi Benami (American Idol tryouts). She ended up making the top 24! Sweet!