The one-day increase for June 30 totaled $165,931,038,264.30 – bigger than the entire annual deficit for fiscal year 2007 and larger than the $140 billion in savings the new health care bill will produce over its first 10 years. The figure works out to nearly $1,500 for every U.S. household, or more than 10 times the median daily household income.

Daily debt calculations jump and fall, and big shifts are common. But all three of the biggest one-day debt increases have occurred since February 2009. I don’t want to appear as the face of doom and gloom or to be accused of fear mongering because you all know I do believe determine our own destiny. We need to vote. We need to study and prepare for hurricanes, earthquakes, wild fires, floods, tornadoes, burglaries, house fires, job loss, economic downturns, and even terrorist attacks. Many have lots of things in common such as the need to evacuate quickly or the need to clean up after. You need to decide which are most likely to happen to you either while at home or while vacationing.

We need to build a General Store within our own homes. We all need to eat, drink, bathe, take care of our sanitation needs and wash our clothing even during good times. Emergency preparedness or Emergency management requires other items, but items that are just as important to be in our stores. We will need disinfectants and trash bags to clean up after floods, earthquakes and during a major pandemic. You will need paper plates and flashlight batteries for power outages. Yes, it is a long list but we can do it one week at a time.

The point, we just don’t know what our challenges in life will be but we do know they will come. If I seem to be beating the economy drum right now it is because that is the crisis everyone can see coming or is already suffering through and for those who may never have seen the need or understood the wisdom of food storage and disaster preparedness this may be the information they need to become motivated. I also don’t ever want to hear…”why didn’t you warn me?”

You have been warned, now it’s your turn to warn others.

This week I am going to spend time posting info about water so today we are going to add water to our General Store. I normally don’t encourage you to purchase water but it is always a good idea to have a few flats that you rotate through. Individual bottle of water are perfect if someone becomes ill and you want to make sure they don’t share their germs. this is especially true if they are ill during a power outage when sterilizing may become much more complicated. It is also important to have water that can be grabbed and carried along with your 72 hour kits to add additional water to that already in your kit.

For those working on the non food items in Our General Store, and you all should be even if you have not completed the food department, add at least one box of large plastic trash bags. These can be used for everything from rain slickers, to shelter, to a porta-potty liner. We have talked in the past about the need to garbage as well as waste disposal in case of an extended power outage but we may also need to provide our own methods of dealing with these problems after a natural disaster if the infra structure fails. You can not have too many plastic bags. I would venture a guess that these will be another great items to barter with.

****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

My discussion with Doctor Prepper all about food storage.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/doctorprepper/2010/07/08/doctor-prepper-show

Back issues: Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



****Win a Consultation!***

To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

I know it may be a bold statement to assume there is a Double Dip Recession coming but I really can see no way around it right now. I don’t believe politicians have the courage to do what is necessary and I say that as a former politician. Did know that about me? Well…it was our local school board but it still meant a nasty campaign. Let me tell you a story…I was serving during a time of real economic crisis. We needed to make some changes and they were not popular but in order to retain state funding it had to be done. I did my research and spoke with teachers (off the record of course, unions hate it when the teachers talk to you honestly!). I talked to the custodians, secretaries, parents and kids. I made the tough choice, the choice that was best for all, not just a few, and I got slammed by the union and parents who refused to listen. I was not reelected and EVERYTHING I said would result, did. I know what it means to be blasted in the press and to have people I thought were friends desert me. Now I understand that this was just local but in some ways that is worse. My kids were harassed and I was harassed at the grocery store and soccer games. I really don’t believe we have enough people willing to give up their elected  positions to do what is best for all.

I also believe Americans may have become weak and dependent and that they don’t have the courage to demand the government reduce spending as it may mean those social programs we are used to may have to disappear.  We seem to have forgotten we are Americans and together we can get through tough times. Our parents and grandparents knew that. They planted victory gardens, shared skills, rationed food and did everything necessary to beat a great depression and a horrible dictator in Germany. We must become that type of person! We can begin within our own homes and among our own friends and family.

What we have done:

We have a binder, paper, a permanent marker and passion to succeed.

Begun by designating a change jar as part of your food storage fund. We are placing all your coins and any change you find on the street or in the sofa in the jar.

Next set a budget.

Determined high priced meals to skip and replaced some dinner meals with breakfast foods.

Made a list of  favorite meals and desserts.

Created a master list of all the ingredients in each recipe.

Using your permanent marker made a slash mark across all the cans and boxes you currently have in our cupboards.

Dated items around the house that are not single use. If you missed this go back and get the directions.

Emailed, facebooked and tweeted everyone you know and tell them we are beginning food storage again.

Created space for food storage.

Today is an easy day…#1 catch up. I realized we have lots of new people joining us so this is a catch up day. If you have not notified everyone you know please do that today. I have lots of people asking me to use articles to pass out at church and in other places. Have you notified all of those people from your church? #2…Now that you have notified others get a food storage buddy. This person will help you, and you will help them, stay on task and as we get to organizing and inventorying our storage you can help each other with the task. So today, catch up and get a buddy. Tomorrow we will use your recipes to create YOUR food storage plan.

For those who are stocking their General Store, and all you newcomers should be doing this also, this week add Insect repellent and aloe vera to your General Store shelves. Over the next few months we will to adding deodorant, hand soap, after shave and hair spray so if you have not already dated those items to discover how much you use in a month do that today. For soap place the wrappers in a drawer, just like we did for TP, and count them at the end of the month.

One more note. Have you noticed the interference on your TV screen the last few days? That is being caused by solar activity! Remember I warned you NASA is concerned we may be in for solar flares which will take down the electrical grid? These storms are very minor compared to the ones to come so keep planning for long term power outages, just in case. The July Newsletter is devoted to cooking off the grid so be sure to read that and use it to purchase or gather the items you will need.

I have also have questions about the blog talk radio show I did with Doctor Prepper last week. It has been taken down because we had a caller who was rude and disruptive and the podcast can’t be edited…too bad. It had such great info. I guess we will have to try to repeat some of it on the 19th when we do another show together.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010



Don’t you wish you could see prices like that again? With food storage you can!

This week is full of nothing but bad news on the economic front. 125,000 jobs lost in June…14.6 million out of work…6.7 million have been out of work for more than 27 weeks…factory orders down 1.4% in May…the DOW down 400 points…3 million jobs lost since February last year…California reducing wages to minimum wage for state workers.  That’s the news just this week, THIS WEEK!More and more economists are forecasting double dip recession by the end of the year. Food Storage…It’s Time!

I left the beginning food storage post up for a few days to give you a chance to spread the word among your family and friends. I really hope you have done that. If you have tried before, try again. How will you feel if the worst happens and you did not make another attempt to warn your neighbors? This weekend as you meet with family and friends it is a good time to remind them again. I’m sure the economy will come up in conversation so take that as your opportunity to pitch self reliance once more.

There is a good article in US World Report on steps to take now to prepare. It is a good reminder. Naturally they did not mention food storage. How short sighted. I have been watching the movie Fun with Dick and Jane. It is about a couple who lose their jobs and they ways they cope and become desperate. It is meant to be funny, and it is, but at the core are some messages that ring true when it all hits the fan. People will be desperate to feed their family and have a roof over their head. Food storage is not the only answer but it is a huge part.

You should continue this weekend to make a list of the foods your family likes to eat and to create a list of all the ingredients in those meals. Tuesday we will organize those and you will have a plan to follow to begin purchasing.Again, this will be your food storage plan, not mine. You will store what your family eats not boxes of dehydrated foods that you won’t know how to use or toms of grains you will eventually throw away.

**** CONTEST**** To help motivate you to share I am offering the chance for you to win a personal one hour consultation. This will be a phone call where you can ask any questions you may have. You may even ask a group of friends to join you on a conference call or just using your speaker phone. To win one of five  consultations just refer five friends to blog.totallyready.com and our yahoo group. Have them mention your email address when they log into the yahoo group and leave a comment on any blog post. Ten friends and you get two chances to win. Fifteen friends and I will call you, guaranteed! It’s that simple. Watch for other special offers as we progress. I know I don’t want to look back when things get worse and think I could have done more to help you.

A holiday weekend is a great time to get the family busy creating space for your food storage. Summer is also a great time with kids home from school and extra hands to help. Next week we beginning filling shelves, nooks and crannies so get started! Here are a few ideas to get you started.

Closets

If you have a deep closet with a bar for hanging clothes, move the bar as far forward as possible. Make sure you still have room to hang clothing. Add shelving to the back wall of the closet. Even if the shelf is narrow it can be used for smaller items such as soup cans, catchup, or shampoo bottles.

Add an additional shelf. Most closets have a shelf above the bar on which you hang your clothes. Look for wasted space above that shelf. This is a great place for Christmas decorations and items you use only occasionally, freeing up other space.

In children’s rooms, lower the clothing bar and add shelving above. Most clothing bars are hung higher than they need to be, even for adults, creating wasted space on the floor — which usually collects lots of clutter.

Raise the floor. If you don’t want to lower the clothing bar build a platform on the floor. Place storage boxes under it and you will still have room for all those shoes.

Empty your closet

Most people wear only 20% of the clothing in their closets. Try going through your wardrobe and if you haven’t warn something in the last year get rid of it.

Under a staircase

Utilize an open staircase by installing custom cabinets, shelves, or storage cubes on the wall. For a decorative look add a bench with storage inside. If you don’t care about fashion or don’t have the money to make changes, just stack away. If you are stacking keep a map of your inventory and remember to rotate your foodstuffs.

If your staircase is enclosed, you have a huge cavern just waiting to be put to work. Create access to the space within by creating a door and store away!

Need ideas for beginning food storage or preparing for the electricity to be out? listen to my talk with Doctor Prepper.  There were some technical problems so fast forward the first ten minutes.

Confused about the solar storms NASA is anticipating? Take some time and listen to my show with Halli.

Join Our Yahoo Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TotallyReady/

Subscribe to our Newsletter: http://blog.totallyready.com/announcing-the-totally-ready-newsletter/

Totally Ready Newsletters July 2009- June 2010

This week I will be doing a blog talk radio show to talk about the lessons we can learn from the Haitian earthquake. Did you know deaths from earthquakes have tripled since 1998? Did you know there are 7.0 and larger earthquakes overdue on every continent and many islands of the sea? Did you know the Haitian earthquake was on the same fault as San Fransisco? If you live in an earthquake area you may know the dangers but, you may not. I heard someone just the other day say they were safe in Seattle, no, Seattle is one of the places that is overdue. I was also reading a study that said that if Vancouver Island gets the 8.0 quake that is overdue it could sink the island. I find that hard to believe but there it was.

We are not about fear here, only self reliance and preparation, but this is a great time to get our friends and neighbors who have not been listening to our warning to take a second look. Tune into the radio show and ask your questions, please. I will continue to post about lessons learned but so many more things come up in an interview when people are asking questions.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/james-talmage-stevens/2010/01/21/family-preparedness-guide-talk-show

Mark your calendar: 7:00PM eastern, 4:00PM Pacific time, Wednesday January 20th. Don’t miss it!

This morning I received the following comment on another post about food prices rising. It was the perfect comment for today’s addition to our General Store. Thank you Lisa!

The price of food is indeed going up. At our local grocery store, a box of Wheat Thins is $5.69 !!!!!!! For one box ! It’s ridiculous. My kids love those. They also love Cheez-its, but where you used to be able to buy “Family Size” boxes, 2/$5.00, they don’t even stock that size anymore and now charge 2/$5.00 for the small boxes. It’s probably healthier for us not not to eat them, but it’s just the point. So frustrating……….

This week we are going to add grain to our stock. Grain prices are, in fact, rising as is evidenced by the price increase Lisa is referring to. There are grain shortages throughout the world and the extreme cold weather has destroyed some of the winter crops in the United States. Last year flooding destroy much of the spring crop.

Grains are such an important part of a great food storage plan. They provide needed nutrients and fiber, store for long periods of time, and are inexpensive compared to convenience foods that are made from grains such as breads, crackers, tortillas, pancake mixes, etc.

For those who may have forgetting just all the grain options available here is a short list: wheat, oats, rice, brown and wild rice, couscous, barley, and pasta. there are more but that is a good start. If you don’t know how to use wheat stay tuned for recipes and please get someone to teach you how to use it to make your own breads and breakfast foods.

This week add 6 pounds of grain per family member to your store.

Add a Comment, add a link to your website or blog site or join our Yahoo Group for a chance to

win one of our great Give Away Prizes

I am very excited to welcome so many new members to our Yahoo Group. If you have not already signed up please visit to see what we are doing. I know many just glean information without ever commenting,  but please comment.  We all learn so much more when we share and ask questions.

For those who have been around for awhile you have heard me comment many times on the concern I have that food prices will rise this year.It is not only in the United States where there are concerns. The following is from the UK:

Sarah Pettitt, NFU Horticulture and Potato Board chairwoman, said the frozen ground was causing problems for producers everywhere.

”We are talking about cabbages, cauliflowers, spring greens, leeks,” she told the Daily Telegraph

”Where we would use a harvester we are having to throw 100 people at a field to do the job by hand. Then we are having to thaw out the produce in storage.

”Farmers are having to be innovative and to use desperate measures to do the harvesting.

”Shortages are not imminent yet, but we do not know how long this is going to last.”

Dairy farmers are still reporting problems with milk collection, with some producers being forced to pour away milk.

An organic dairy farmer said her husband was forced to throw away more than 1000 litres of milk after the milk tanker failed to get to her farm in Staffordshire on Sunday (10 January).

Global Concern

A surge in commodity prices may force consumer firms, particularly makers of eatables, to push up product prices in a calibrated manner in the next fiscal, industry officials said.

Costs of essential commodities including sugar and milk have soared in the recent past with sugar prices scaling new peaks in January as a rally, which more than doubled prices in 2009, still shows no signs of losing momentum.

Prices of other raw materials such as edible oils have also begun to rise as the larger food price index rose 18.22 percent in the 12 months to Dec. 26.

“It will be a common trend particularly in food companies such as Britannia <BRIT.BO>, Nestle <NEST.BO> and ITC <ITC.BO>, as prices of sugar, milk is going up,” said Anand Shah, an analyst at Angel Broking.

But, rather than hiking prices directly, the companies may prefer to reduce the grammage per pack, he said, adding that further increases in input costs may lead to price hikes as well.

Also..

Farmers and civil society groups urged the National Food Authority (NFA) on Monday to intervene in the market to prevent any more increases in the prices of rice.

These groups have likewise urged Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap to investigate rice traders, who, they said, should answer for the rice price.

Record low temperatures have wiped out or damaged crops world wide but is this just the beginning?

From Miami to Maine, Savannah to Seattle, America is caught in an icy grip that one of the U.N.’s top global warming proponents says could mark the beginning of a mini ice age.

Oranges are freezing and millions of tropical fish are dying in Florida, and it could be just the beginning of a decades-long deep freeze, says Professor Mojib Latif, one of the world’s leading climate modelers.

Latif thinks the cold snap Americans have been suffering through is only the beginning. He says we’re in for 30 years of cooler temperatures — a mini ice age, he calls it, basing his theory on an analysis of natural cycles in water temperatures in the world’s oceans.

Many parts of the world have been suffering through record-setting snowfalls and arctic temperatures. The Midwest saw wind chills as low as 49 degrees below zero last week, while Europe saw snows so heavy that Eurostar train service and air travel were canceled across much of the continent. In Asia, Beijing was hit by its heaviest snowfall in 60 years.

Those of us who believe in living a self reliant life style do not need these news article to convince us but some of your family and friends may. Whatever your motivation, you will never be sorry you have food stored. If you are storing the foods you normally eat it will never go to waste.e key is storing what you eat, not tons of wheat if you can’t cook with wheat or freeze dried or dehydrated foos which sit for years until you finally throw them in a dumpster because they are no longer any good.

If you are new to our General Store we are stocking the shelves in our own in-home store with food for the next few weeks. We began last February and when we finish we will have a complete three month supply. We will then move on to non-food items. A week by week plan for stocking food will be available in March Newsletter.

This week add 5 pounds of powdered milk per family member to your store. Remember we are stocking our shelves with items from all of the food groups. That is absolutely necessary to maintain good health.

Don’t Forget the January Give Away!!!

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2010/01/11/119457/Food-price-rise-warning-as-snow-halts-harvest.htm

http://asia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20100111/tbs-fmcg-costs-focus-7318940.html

http://business.inquirer.net/money/breakingnews/view/20100111-246752/Govt-action-sought-to-stabilize-rice-prices

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/01/11/years-global-cooling-coming-say-leading-scientists/

As I have watched the economy this year, and heard from many of you, it has become more and more important to me that we expand our numbers. Everyone needs to know what we know. Families throughout the world are suffering from the failing economy and an increase in natural disasters.

Please help me to reach out and expand our community

As a way of thanking you for your help I am going to be giving away several self reliance related gifts.

***Our Grand Prize***

$75.00 Gift Certificate to Totally Ready.com

plus copies of all my ebooks

Mother Hubbard: What She’s Doing Now

Prep Not Panic

Pack Your Bags We’re Staying Home

&

That Won’t Happen to Me

Other prizes

Autographed copy of James Talmage Steven’s Book..Making the Best of Basics PLUS my ebooks listed above…$65.00 Value

Emergency Auto Kit…$40.00 Value

4 Child ID Kits and 2 First Aid Kits…$40.00 Value

To Enter the Drawing do any or all of the following:

1. Sign up for the Totally Ready Newsletter for yourself or a friend..5 chances to win …current subscribers, you have already earned five chances!!!

2. Post a link to http://blog.TotallyReady.com on your blog, twitter or face book.. 4 chances for each posting. You never know who may see the link and become inspired. Just let me know where you have posted.

3. Join our Yahoo Group…2 chances…current members have already earned 2 chances!

4. Ask a question or post a response to questions on our yahoo group…1 chance each.

5. Send a friend to our blog. Have them post a comment and you will get 2 more chances and they will get 2 chances.

Let’s Make 2010 the Year we help our friends and family

prepare !

In recent months I have been asked repeatedly how new comers can catch up. I’ve been asked for a summary of our Seven Steps from last year (365 Days to be prepared) as well as a list of what we have already added to our General Store. I have been asked where to get more information on topics we have already discussed. With this in mind we are introducing a Totally Ready Newsletter.

You will no longer have to wonder what you missed when on vacation or recovering from an illness or just a busy week. I will announce special offers for preparedness supplies as I find good deals or arrange for discounts with suppliers or manufacturers. For a complete list of the sections and topics to be covered please check out the information on the newsletter link above.

Wedding season is upon us and a gift subscription would be a great way to help get the newly webs off to a great start! And of course there is Father’s Day!

A great gift for those you care about most…

Many of you have told me of your frustration with friends and family who are not preparing.

Our first newsletter will explain the importance of preparedness, review our three month supply, introduce the General Store concept,

bring you up-to-speed on the H1N1 flu virus, and include an e-book discount for our new e-book – all this for subscribers only!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY!

If you are a member of a preparedness or other group, please contact me directly about a group rate

Carolyn@TotallyReady.com

A Pandemic seems to be a concern that has been moved to the back burner. The president has chosen to eliminate funding for preparing families from the the stimulus package. The Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization continue to stress the necessity for communities and families to prepare. The CDC does not have more than general information for families on their web site. In discussions with them, they are focused on planning for communities, which makes sense as their resources are limited and when you prepare communities half the battle has been won. We are going to prepare families here.

Last Friday I talked about preparing  distractions and entertainment during a pandemic. In one of the comments I received a reader mentioned they had just come through a week of dealing with the common flu. Much of what we are discussing here can also be of help during the annual flu season so, even if a pandemic doesn’t occur, for ten years, we will be putting into practice the things we learn.

In that spirit our March Give Away is a few items to start your Pandemic Survival Kit: (6) Large Biohazard Bags, (1) medical safety glasses and (1) CPR face shield (protects you from illness when providing mouth to mouth) …Value $17.00

Since this year we are focusing on food storage I would like to get your ideas for meals from the pantry. To qualify for our March Give Away you simply need to post a recipe made from ingredients in your pantry. Easy…by the end of the month we should have a nice collection of yummy new recipes to help us rotate our food supply.

This is the place…to post all those great recipes made from the foods in your pantry and to qualify for our March Give Away. I’ll start with one of my own favorite appetizers:

Cowboy Salsa

1 can (14 oz.) black-eyed peas

1 can (14 oz.) black beans

1 can (14 oz.) whole kernel corn

1 can (14 oz.) Mexican style diced tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Tortilla chips

1. Drain and rinse beans. Drain other canned foods. Combine all ingredients and mix well.

2. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

3. Serve with homemade tortilla chips.

Now it’s your turn

It’s March and that means several things to us today.

First, we want to congratulate Ohad and Chris at SeatKarma.com. You may remember we reviewed Seat Karma a few months ago and today they received a great review at Tech Crunch:  http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/02/seatkarma-helps-you-find-the-best-seat-in-the-house/

This is a big deal and a big honor for a start up Internet business. If you haven’t checked them out do it and if you have, go to Tech Crunch and let them know you are a fan.

Second, it’s time to announce our safety glow stick winner! …..Jeanette W..you won!!! Jeanette has been a faithful follower of this blog almost since the beginning so it was such fun to see her name come up. Congratulations Jeanette! I will be announcing our March give away tomorrow so check back.

Third, it’s Frozen Foods Month. That means this is the month to stock up. Obviously we do not want all of our fruits, vegetables and protein stored in a freezer. The power can fail at any time and this approach would be foolish. Check out your Sunday newspaper and coupons on line to save even more on your frozen favorites this month.

This week we are going to add vegetables to our General Store. If you have not already done so, this is a great time to sit down with your family to list your 10 favorite meals, record all the ingredients in those meals, and finally determine your family’s favorite fruits, vegetables, and grains and prepare to store them in those proportions. Again, these are not the only meals you will eat for three months but once you have the ingredients for those ten, you can mix and match to create dozens more.

Once you know the vegetables your family prefers begin looking for sales on those items. This week store 10 cans of vegetables per family member. For those who may be new, our goal is to have a three month supply of the foods we eat by the end of the year. I have spent a great deal of times calculating serving sizes and the amount of food which must be stored to meet your family’s nutritional needs. Ten cans may sound like quite a bit but in reality it is only a ten day supply.

Since it is frozen foods month think frozen when you think vegetables. One 16 oz. bag of frozen vegetables is equivalent to 2 1/2 cans of veggies. Also remember that tomatoes and spaghetti sauce count as a vegetable so if they appear as ingredients in your menu don’t forget to store some of them also.

If you have questions let me know. Good luck.

Congratulations again to Ohad, Chris and Jeanette!!

Congratulations again to our January winner Sondra!

Now it’s your turn! Win 10 Safety Glow Sticks, a $22.00 value.

It’s easy to enter. Simply comment on any post during the month of February and every new comment gives you another chance to win. Please don’t just say hi, although we love to have you check in, but offer your opinion or advice or simply ask a questions. Let’s get the discussion going! Be sure to comment often to increase your chance of winning.

These are awesome!! I love these. They provide lots of light if you have a roadside emergency. They light can be used in place of flares, in areas prone to wild fires, at accident scenes, to mark a path, where gas leaks or chemical spills are present, to create a perimeter around a hazard or as a traffic wand or signaling device.

SeatKarma.com is the brain child of two recent graduates of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M. Ohad and Chris were brainstorming over a chicken sandwich one day and the rest is history. I must note here that Chris is my son. As a mom I am very excited about his new venture but I am even more excited as a consumer.

SeatKarma.com is an internet service which allows you to compare ticket prices from 200 of the biggest ticket brokers in the country. Just imagine how long it would take to scour 200 sites for that same info. When you enter an event you would like to attend you will see a listing of all the tickets available for that event from all of those who are selling tickets. I looked at a Celine Dion concert and tickets in the same section of the arena were being sold for $156.00 to $312.00. That is a huge difference for the same basic seat. This feature alone is worth your time to take a look.

Speaking of venues…in many if not most cases, when you click on the event and venue you want a map of that venue will appear showing you exactly where tickets are located. Many of these venues have an interactive feature attached and as you scroll over an icon on the screen, an even more detailed account of the seat you are considering will appear.

I spent an hour exploring this site and the next time I need a ticket this is where I will go to purchase one. One of the features I love is that this site is not selling tickets so they are truly bringing you the best options.

Tickets are available for sports, concerts and theater events. They not only include professional sports, Broadway and large stadium venues but also college sports, regional theater and small clubs. If there is an event you want to attend and you need a ticket, they probably have it.  Tickets are available for sold out events as people who have purchased tickets need to sell them or as venues add more seating. SeatKarma.com has tickets for over 90,000 events at over 7,000 venues. I even searched for San Fransisco Giants tickets and they are all there for the coming season.

There are so many features you will just have to check it out for yourself. For a quick overview click on the large play button at the bottom center of the SeatKarma.com home page. Also note the box in the bottom right corner which has a pull down menu for the most popular events in each category, saves a little time.

Probably my favorite feature of SeatKarma.com is their commitment to give back. Each month they will highlight a different non-profit organization and donate 10% of their pre-tax profit. As recent graduates of the Mays Business School at Texas A&M their donation this month will be to the scholarship fund which helped them receive their education. So, if you are an Aggie now would be a good time to purchase those tickets. Next month’s charity is the American Cancer Society. I love the idea of helping while purchasing tickets I would have purchased anyway. If you would like your non-profit considered please send them a request for information at: info@seatkarma.com.

Please take a look today and pass along the information about this service to your friends and family who may be considering a ticket purchase. Send Ohad and Chris a message and let them know what you think.

Each month we will be offering an item or two, or three… as a give away to help meet your preparedness needs. The requirements to be entered into the drawing will change each month but they will all be simple tasks designed to create more dialogue and sharing of ideas.For January I will be giving away an Adult Deluxe 72 hour kit with a value of $122.00. This kit can be viewed at TotallyReady.com and includes the following:

Hygiene kit with:
Lighted mirror, (4) Sun block wipes, (2) burn cream, (1) Soap, (1) Towel, (12) Wipes,
(3) Shampoo/conditioner, (1) Toothbrush with cap, (1) Tooth paste, (1) Comb,
(1) Razor, (3) Shave cream, (1) Deodorant (1) Lotion, (3) Tampons (Female Hygiene Kit Only), (3) Feminine maxi pads (Female Hygiene Kit Only), (1) Sewing kit, (1) pr. Medical grade gloves

AND
(1) 33-piece First Aid Kit
(1) Work gloves
(1) N95 face mask
(1) Biohazard bag
(3) MRE Meals
(12) 4-oz pouches water
(6) 400-calorie Energy bars
(3) Sporks
(1) Water bottle carrier/lanyard
(1) Sports Bottle
(2) Body warmers (20 hours each)
(2) Cold packs
(1) AM/FM radio/flashlight/siren
(1) Whistle/lanyard
(3) 6-inch Light Sticks
(1) Rain poncho
(1) Mylar Blanket
(1) Multi-function 14 in 1 tool
Checklist: Things to add
Emergency ID card

Deluxe Backpack: 19x14x9 inches

To qualify simply place a link to: blog.TotallyReady.com on your blog. If you do not have a blog ask a friend if they will post a link on a blog they write or place a link in a discussion group or forum you visit. If you have already placed a link on your blog that qualifies. You can also qualify to win by posting a link on your facebook or similar account. Once your link is placed simply send a message in the comments section of this post telling me where the link has been placed. If you do not want the linked address mentioned in your comments I will delete your blog address before posting the comment. We want to encourage others to join us and increase the input to better learn from each other’s experiences. Every time you place a link you qualify for another chance to win so get linking!