Iggy

When I left my first hubby I left him with the 23" screen tv and the 4 foot satelitte dish/receiver and the monthly $$ bill. That was in 1999. I couldn't afford another TV after that. Then I found that my life was way less stressful, less tense without the TV. I also felt that my spiritual self was freer - no more sprirtually numbing sit-coms and commercial ads bombarding me and dulling my soul. New Husband really wanted to get cable/satelitte TV, but I persevered, and we watch Netflix both on line and the DVD's we order. Also hubby has bookmarked certain shows through the major networks and we watch those. The bonus is they are commercial free. Also if a program gets too foul (language and story line) we turn it off and find something else. Our neighbors (young family) pay for satelitte tv along with internet and they really only watch Discovery, and two or three other educational programs. We watch Discovery via Netflix- and the three educational programs they watch we can get for free. They are not current shows- generally they are a week behind to one month behind - but who cares! We are saving nearly $100.00 a month by NOT having it. I don't watch TV because it is boring, I don't watch it because there is just too much filth, foul language and sprirtually degrading topics. From the commercials to the programs- too much evil. Drives the Holy Ghost from you.

I have used Pine Sol in a hand held electric carpet cleaning machine. Sat on a low stool and sprayed the carpeting with it, and also added it to the water inside of the machine. Problem is, if the urine has been there for a long time, or if it has penetrated through the padding, then you pretty much have to toss the carpeting. My Husband and I were going to buy a beautiful manufactured house- it was pretty much ideal for us, including the cost- until we went to look at it on a cold, rainy day when the owner had not only the heat turned up but also had the wood stove fired up. There was cat urine smell throughout the entire home! The cat was actually two un-neutered males, who had used the interior of the house as their marking grounds. We would have had to remove all of the carpeting, padding and the walls that were sheet rock. The owner wouldn't reduce the price of the home nor would she replace the carpeting, padding and the sheet rock walls that had been sprayed by her cats. Two years later, she finally replaces the carpeting and the walls and sells for $5,000 less than what she had been asking. Not to us, we found a bigger home that is 5 years newer and 95% cleaner. And for $30,000 less! Pine Sol really is one of the best cleaning products around. Another must have in your arsenal of cleaning/disinfecting products is Peroxide. I now use it on ALL of my bathroom and kitchen surfaces. I clean them first with HOT soapy water, rinse then spray with undiluted peroxide and let air dry. I have two cats and the area when their litter boxes are is vinyl flooring and vinyl textured wall paper. They don't potty anywhere else, but in the boxes. Once I empty the boxes, clean them with Pine Sol, rinse with HOT water and dry with and old bath towel. I spray the entire box and the domed lid with straight peroxide. I mop the floor and surrounding walls with hot pine sol water, let dry, then spray with peroxide and again let dry. As far as I know, peroxide is not toxic when mixed with other cleaners/chemicals. Not like bleach and ammonia. Or bleach and liquid dish detergent. That combo nearly killed me!

From experience I have used Pine Sol mixed in water to remove cat urine and male cat spray from my wood paneled walls. Also works at removing male cat spray and skunk spray from concrete steps. Douse the floor, scrub with a linoleum brush (short bristled brush on a long handle), mop up and rinse with clean, clear water. My best friend and her 2nd husband used to catch and de-skunk skunks and then sell them as pets. She used Pine Sol to clean up afterwards, and to pre-wash their clothes. It works - my ex hubby got sprayed by a skunk- pine sol in a bucket of hot water sponged on him while he was still outside, and then another dousing in the shower before the soap, shampoo shower. Dumped his clothes in the washing machine, poured in about 1/2C pine sol and set it to the last rinse. When that was done, re-set the machine to wash and added laundry soap and 1/4 cup of pine sol. If you want to disinfect - spray with peroxide, let air dry.

Corn is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable or starch. (from Wikipedia). It is high in carbs, as are peas, has very low dietary fiber and should be counted as carbs. If you are also eating potatoes, then eat a non starchy veggie.

Normal range for blood glucose levels is from 60-90. 90-110 is normal. When I hit 60 or less is when I am extremely weak, shaky and need the sugar boost. Glucose tabletS- 3 of them is what you are to take, or 4 to 6 oz of regular soda, or a candy bar, or 4-6 oz of regular OJ. Anna, do you inject insulin? If you are dropping when your levels are 100 or less, then you just may need to up your insulin by a few units. I'd check with my Dr in any case. Pancakes w/ butter & syrup is not a balanced meal. Way too much carbs and no protein. Eggs are not counted as protein for a diabetic. It is counted as fat. 5mg of fat. If you have one serving of ham and then some fresh fruit along with one serving of pancakes, syrup made with stevia or splenda or jam made with stevia or splenda or no added sweetener, then you shouldn't experience the dropsy aka nodding off. Applepansy, Thank You, Thank You, T H A N K Y O U !! for your post. Complex carbs are good for you. They make your body work for the sugar. The proteins and fiber regulate the process and delivery of the sugars aka fuel to the organs that need it. Once I realized that Diabetes - uncontrolled- damages EVERY internal organ, I took my diabetes more seriously. I have been to the two day seminars hosted by my Dr's clinic- and taught by the Diabetic Nutritionist. What an eye opener! The second one my husband attended with me- so he could understand why I never bought Low Fat foods, or even low sugar (most times there is fructose and the carbs are still too high) foods. Also I am careful of the processed foods. Frozen dinners, snacks, etc. Hala, go to the Dr and get a complete blood work up. No sense in you purchasing a meter and strips until it is absolutely necessary.

Well pick it up and start reading!

LM, they could also be Mormons.

WalMart has ReliOn Ultima meter for about $9.00 and a box of their testing strips (20 in a box) for a little over $8.00. These are over the counter prices. I use AccuChek Compact Plus, my monitor was free- my strips cost $59.24 for three drums/51 test strips. My out of pocket expense is $20.00 with my insurance. I get my meds from Walgreen's Mail Order- so I get three months for the cost of 2 months. I also test 5 X a day, so I need to get 7 boxes for a 3 month period, my cost is $40.00- my insurance pays $349.95. At Walgreen's the AccuChek monitor is on sale for $15.99, the testing strips are $77.99 for a box of 3 drums/51 strips! Once you "open" a drum, it must be used within one month. The box of 100 lancets for AccuChek are OTC and cost anywhere from $12.00 to $19.00 depending on the store. Have to have lancets to test the blood. A trip to the Dr for a blood workup - and then a follow up when the blood results come in should let you know either way. Let the Dr know exactly why you are requesting the blood workup. Make note of the foods you eat and the drinks you consume prior to feeling weak and tired. Then tell the Dr. I am diabetic - Type 2. If I eat a sweet with my meal (cake, cookie, sweetened pudding, ice cream, etc.) and my meal is a balanced one and equals 45 grams of carbs, then I will get hot flash/sweats, and feel weak, and sometimes nod off asleep. I can do sweets as long as it is made with Splenda- then I am fine. Also fresh oranges and bananas are too high in natural sugars for me. I love them, but I have to be careful to eat them with other foods that will help to regulate the sugars, like proteins.

Is she a broker? If not- then cc all the saved messages( from & to her) and send them to her broker. The Broker is required by law to give you the name, addresses of their regulatory board. File a complaint against this Realtor- her pushing the sleazy contractor is a big No-No. Her harassing you via texts-emails & phone is another big No-No. Her not accepting NO is a big No-No. I would also remove the paragraph about being careful of small town gossip. It could come across as a veiled threat. The rest of your response is fine. Just make sure to CC it to her supervisor aka Broker. If it were me, I would send your response to her, with CC's to her Broker & the Regulatory Board. This way she knows that she can't alter her side of the story. Heck, even if she is a Broker, CC all the Brokers at her Real Estate firm. Where my Ex worked, one of the Brokers was as crooked as they come, until the other Brokers got enough complaints and lawsuits brought against the company, nothing was done. Once they (the firm) had had enough and asked him to leave, that is when the Regulatory board removed his RE License and hit him with mucho big fines! I have my cell phone set up so that I can NOT text and no one can text me, except my cell phone carrier (text's from them are free). The reason is - there is no way for ME to have printable access to what is texted to and from me. Not like emails. After working in the Insurance claims business for 5 years, I am a firm believer in documentation, documentation, documentation!!! Also before that, I was harassed via telephone by my ex's mistresses ( yep, plural!). Taping their conversations, then having those tapes transcribed by my Para Legal is what helped me with my divorce and in getting restraining orders against not only the Ex but also his many bed partners.

Yep, I'm older than dirt too. One thing I don't miss is the wax bottle with the sweet liquid in it. There were also the wax lips, fangs, etc. Those were nasty tasting too. Mimeograph paper- helped the teacher print out tests when I was in the 5th grade. Love the smell of it! Cut myself on the metal ice cube tray- had to have stitches for that one. My brother put my hand through the wringer- he got one severe spanking and I avoided the washer for nearly a year. I loved to listen in on the party line- best eavesdropping tool ever invented.

I learned: 1. You had dang well be driving the posted speed limit BEFORE you pass the speed limit sign. 2. Don't let a tailgater push you to drive faster than the posted speed limit. Slow down, move over to the right IF it is a four or more lane roadway. When the tailgater passes, slow down a bit more to insure he safely passes you, AND THEN stay OFF his tail! The instructor stressed that you should NOT pull off the road and stop to let a tailgater go by. There had been instances where the tailgater stopped also and caused harm to the driver and car- along with robbing them. If the tailgater continues to tail gate even after you slow down, and does not pass you when it is safe to do so, stay driving at the speed limit or no more than 10 mph under the posted speed limit. IF you know that there is a police/sheriff/ state patrol office nearby, take the exit and go there. Unfortunately, you can not read someones licence plate when they tailgate. BUT you can give a description of the car. I did this once, and the idiot tailgater actually followed me to the Police station. I had my camera in my hands when I got out of my car and I took pictures of his vehicle, plates and him. Then I went into the station. He actually followed me into the station, yelling at me that I was a danger to other drivers. After all the yelling, and explanations he was ticketed. I didn't stick around to find out what all they hit him with, I was just happy to get back on the road driving to my destination.

We had one sister that the VT Companions would not visit. They felt that the company she had in her home was dangerous. As far as I know, the RS President told the Branch President about it, he told her son-in-law and grandson and the situation has been cleaned up. From reading the local newspaper, the company got arrested for possession and selling drugs. One was tossed back into prison for parole violation (weapons). The poor woman is senile, and her youngest sisters children are bad, bad news. For the time being her VTeachers are the RS Presidency and her HTeachers are the Branch Presidency. The one really good thing to come of this, is her SIL is paying closer attention to her, and the Grandson has come back into activity and is also visiting her much more often.

Bini, Ask your Ward Missionaries for a copy of the Book of Mormon. Then read it. When I reactivated after 30 years of living astray, I was constantly crying. I could barely read the Ensign without crying. Experienced the feeling of being overwhelmed. Boy Howdy, have I experienced it! Quit wearing mascara, make-up because of the constant crying! As Skalenfehl said, it is the Holy Ghost testifying to you. After a year and a few months I was in the Temple, doing Initiatory's- and the tears were so intense that the Temple Matron came, took me aside and asked if I would like to take a break, or go do an Endowment session. I told her no, I really felt that the women needed for me to finish. She asked that we pray and ask the Holy Ghost and the Sisters I was doing the work for to tone it down a bit. That I was too overwhelmed and needed them to ease up on the rejoicing and for the Holy Ghost to hold back and after the last sister received the initiatory - THEN go ahead and have at me. I was then able to finish the work for 15 more Sisters, and as I sat in the dressing room, the Holy Ghost poured out the truth of temple work. After about 20 minutes of basking in this I went on to do only one Endowment. Though, sitting in the Celestial Room, I felt ALL of the Sisters I had done initiatory's for (25 of them), they were so joyful. From that day on, when I am too overwhelmed by the Holy Ghost- I pray and ask for him to tone it down a bit. I believe- I will never leave the narrow path again - I trust that He will always be with me, just dial it back a wee bit.

Peanut M&M's are NOT candy, they are Happy Pills. Don't have any candy or Happy Pills in the house. Would love to have a dozen deviled eggs though - What all do you put in your deviled eggs? I am tired of just a dab of mustard, season salt and Mrs Dash, mix with a large dab of mayo/miracle whip.

Yuck! As one who was raised on coffee, Postum is such a yucky & expensive substitute. Pero is much more like coffee- not fresh ground, but instant. And way cheaper.

Yes, when they are getting cremated they are dressed in their ceremonial clothing if possible. I don't know the why part- but why not? The LDS Store On Line sells ceremonial clothing for burial. The dress is not sewn closed at the back- has ties at the neck, and you just tuck the dress under the body. When my Mother was buried, the Bishop of her Ward placed the veil over her face after the services and moments before they closed and sealed the casket. My sister weighed too much for us to dress her- over 650 pounds- plus she was being cremated, so her garments, ceremonial clothes, gown, socks, slippers were placed in her envelope and placed in her hands. That is just in the movies, not as any doctrinal teachings. As Far As I Know. On the other side of the clothing part, when we buried my Grandma- she was not LDS, her back was so bent from arthritis that they had to put padding around her to keep her from rolling on her side. She also only had sweat shirts with great V's cut into the neckline and sweat pants, she wore slippers she knitted. The last 8 years of her life she refused to wear bras or her girdle. We just could not see stuffing her into a bra and had no money for a dress and the trimmings. So, we dressed her in one of her new nightgowns, her favorite slippers and in a box we put her favorite broach, necklace, earrings and bracelet. She had told us that she didn't want to be buried wearing her wedding rings- but we could not get them off of her without trouble so they are still on her finger. Had she been an endowed member, she would have been dressed in Temple Whites.

One family in our ward in Arizona had a basement that flooded. Basements are very rare where I was living to begin with. The water pipe sprung a leak, and when they came home from work, they could smell dampness coming from the basement as they entered the kitchen. All of their food storage was in the basement. Fortunately the majority of it was in plastic. The super pails of grain, sugar, flour and honey. The boxed food items were in plastic totes to keep the insects and snakes out. Fortunately the water was only up to within 3" of the top of the pails. What they lost were the toilet paper, face tissues, paper towels, bath soap, tooth brushes, powdered laundry detergent. They could have salvaged the toothbrushes by soaking in alcohol for a bit, but by the time they got every thing out of the basement, the water pumped out and the wet items spread out on the yard- they just didn't care about toothbrushes. They had a lot of help that early evening - one call to their HT, HT's wife called the RS Pres and four families showed up with wet vacs, and able bodies to bring everything out of the basement. The Compassionate Service Sister called around and got meals not only for all the workers, but also breakfast, lunch and dinners for the next two days for the family. All of their cardboard enclosed items are now in plastic totes. "Just In Case".

After the first three marriages, Hubby #2 was a bit hesitant in giving me full reign over the joint money. The first 6 months he went with me when I grocery shopped, and when I went shopping at the mall- he tracked me by my debit card purchases. I was glad when he stayed home from the grocery shopping. He tossed more useless junk food into the cart than I ever dreamed of eating. Goodness, I never knew senior age people still ate canned cheese! Yuck! I would have liked to have him accompany me when I bought clothes- he is so honest. If the color is wrong or the cut of the garment makes me look huge- he doesn't hesitate to tell me. I had to get used to not having to report how I spent every cent. The only extra food he had was the freezer in the refrigerator was packed with Taquito's! Double Yuck! I was a write the check, deliver it in person type of bill payer. He had everything set up for paying online where possible. Also, I paid as close to the date you would get charged a late payment. He paid within 2 business days before the due date. The way I paid bills is how an adrenalin junkie pays bills. Yep, adrenalin rushes were my drug of choice. It took a year for me to totally come on board with his way of paying bills. I now pay all the bills, via online as either Auto pay (Car payment, car insurance, land rental payment- if it is the same every month, then it is AutoPay) The change every month bills are paid by E-Pay. I have an alert set up through my electronic banking to notify me when the bill is due (that never changes :) then I go online and put in the dollar amount. The only money that I do not consider is half mine is the money Husband receives from his first retirement. He worked for Kaiser-Permenente and retired from there a decade before we even met. That is HIS and his alone. Though I am prospering from the interest it is earning. After 7 years of marriage- the only time one of us spent money and the other got upset was when He spent $5,000 over several months time purchasing Nutri System foods. There was no communication over that- and when I found out how much was spent I was really upset. Nutri System is a scam- You have to purchase more food to add to the food you purchase from them, and their food is NASTY. We threw away 80% of it because there was no way I could make it palatable. That year our food budget was 5X what it should have been, and neither of us enjoyed it. Their food has a shelf life of 3 months- if it isn't consumed by then toss it. The stuff you add water too- won't reconstitute. NO matter how long you wait, just ain't happening. Yes, I did send it back- never got reimbursed. That company is EVIL as far as I am concerned. Husband just finished doing the taxes. We are getting a wonderfully large amount from Feds and have to pay a good size chunk to State. He also did great on the market (Day Trading is his hobby), so he told me that along with new tires for the car, there is $1,000 for food storage. First thing I ordered was the Wonder Mill grain grinder. I will take my time purchasing the rest of the long term food storage. He told me that there is also another $1,000 for me to buy clothes, or house hold items if I wanted/needed it. Okay, now I can measure the walls in the kitchen and get the peg board to hang my most used pots and utensils on, go looking for fabric to do window treatments in the bedroom. AND I can get a new, all stainless 12" skillet. I really hate the non-stick pans & pots. My 12" skillet is a chicken fryer type- high sides, heavy in weight, love the rest of the set. BUT it has that non-stick surface. It is peeling and flaking. Thus I tossed it when we moved. Hadn't used it in years, so why pack & move it. The one I want costs $60.00. Hubby wouldn't object to me purchasing it as long as I didn't overdraw the account doing it. Oh, I can also get the slide out shelf inserts I have coveted for a year now. Yeah.

I only get the feedback squeal when someone hugs me, and blocks the air vent on the hearing aid, OR when my aids are dirty:( I have digital aids now. The linear ones, yep there was feedback if there was a microphone any where in the room with me.

I lived in Casa Grande (50 miles south of Phoenix) for 6 years. I have worn DriSilque since I have been endowed. Well, I wore the cotton jersey for the first few weeks, then went to DriSilque as soon as it came in the mail from LDS Stores. It is not hotter to wear it, but it is wetter. I ended up wearing nursing pads right next to the skin and under my breasts to absorb the wet. I changed them twice a day. I tried the 100% cotton and the cotton jersey, but for me it was worse. I had sweat running down my back, and from my arm pits! Went back to DriSilque. The mesh ones are supposed to wick the sweat out and hold the warmth in. My friends who live in the very cold northern regions prefer them. My husband has lived in Casa Grande most of his life and worked at ASU for 8 years at the Central Plant (AC and Heating plant- which by the way is NOT air conditioned and thus in the summer can reach 180 degrees). He wears only the cotton poly. The 100% cotton tends to get larger the warmer and damper your body gets. Cotton poly doesn't do that. The problem with cotton poly and body sweat- body sweat yellows it. I have washed with color safe bleach, Biz and oxi-clean and there are still the sweat stains, yellowing the garment. When he would come home from work, his clothes would be rimed with body salt from sweating so much. I found that if I wear cotton, woven not knit, that I was much more comfortable. No nylons or (gasp) pantyhose at all. Cotton only slips. Had a friend make them for me. I also had a linen blouse that I wore instead of a jacket/blazer. I tried silk, washable silk- but that was too warm even. Perhaps if there had been any breeze that even had a hint of coolness to it, I might have been able to wear the washable silk. I can wear it here on the Coast during the warm days. Because the breezes here have a hint of cool to them. My problem is the elastic used- in all of the different fabrics. It gives me blisters. So I have to make sure my tops are long enough to tuck in securely. In the civilian world I would sew blanket binding over the elastic of my cotton knickers, and get the kind that had banded legs. Oh, btw to me, the DriSilque is like wearing next to nothing next to my skin. Very, very comfortable.

This I can relate to- during some RS functions, the women can get overly loud and it hurts my ears. So- I turn off my aids. Can't even attend church functions where all of the children will be present, such as Halloween party at the Branch, or Easter breakfast and egg hunt. Their little high pitched voices overload my hearing aids. Then there are the adults who barely speak above a whisper. Even when asked to speak up and into my face, because my hearing aids are not picking up your voice. I turn my aids up and guess what? The furnace running drowns out their voices. Turning up the volume on the microphone doesn't help either, it gives off a static hum that I can hear and not the voice.

To me hoarding is when you stockpile items and then never use them. When I moved here to the coast 16 months ago- we brought twelve, 12 count of double size rolls of tpaper. I have since then purchased a 24 count double size roll of Home brand. Fred Meyer just started selling it, and I wanted to see if it was comparable to Northern, my preferred brand. It is. So, as the Home brand goes on sale, I will continue to add to my storage. The same with facial tissues and p.towels. I had no extras of either- now I have. Rite Aid, Bi Mart and WalMart all had wonderful sales on facial tissues at the start of the "Flu Season". I don't hoard- because I use from everything I store. WalMart and Safeway have the 6, 8 and 10 packs of Bumble Bee tuna on sale for incredible prices. So I have bought as many as I am allowed- with the money I can afford. Saturday got two 10 count Bumble Bee @ Safeway for $6.99 each. I have four 8 packs of Chicken of the Sea in my storage already, and two 8 packs in my kitchen cupboard. The Chicken of the Sea cans are 7.2 ounce cans, and they cost me $0.59 a can! For me to buy tuna, it must work out to $0.69 a can or less. Next season when the sisters from church can fresh tuna, I think I am going to go in with them and do it too. Can 1/2 pints- do it first with an experienced canner, then if I feel I can do it on my own I will. I have wanted to can beef for years now. In pint jars, with seasonings added. I don't like the taste of canned beef in tins from the store. No amount of seasonings helps improve the flavor. I have had home canned beef. Canned with gravy seasoned with bay leaf, cracked pepper corn and horseradish. It was just heated up and served with boiled potatoes and fresh from the garden salad. I also need to replenish the bath soap. I open the packages and put the 'naked' bars into baskets, then put those baskets on the top shelf in my linen closet. The bars dry out and end up lasting nearly twice as long in the shower. They lose a lot of their scent, but we don't care. They don't lose any of their soapy, cleaning ability. I really don't care what brand soap I get. I don't buy Ivory- why pay good money for a bar of fluff? Same for Irish Spring- it is fluff soap. Whipped air- money down the drain. If I can get it at a decent price I buy Castile soap. No need to dry this one out, as it is hard milled already. Oh, and the soaps that are curved like Dove, place with the hollow part down, so water can't collect and sit in it. Your bar will last longer that way. You also don't want your bar sitting in standing water, or with a wet cloth on or under it. Lever 2000 is hollowed out on both sides, so this one needs to be standing on the long edge. Dial is the same, set it on edge. When you store bath soap, know this - rodents love to eat it. So if you have rodents in your area, store your soap in plastic totes whose lids seal tight. If the vermin can smell it, they will chew through plastic to get to it. I had mice chew through the bathroom wall (trailer house- from where the hot water heater was through to the bathroom under the sink cupboard) and ate the soap- they left the paper/cardboard wrappers! So I blocked the hole, put the replenished soap into a plastic shoe box size container, and they still got to it- ate a hole in the flimsy plastic. The lids didn't fit tight enough! I ended up getting a rubbermaid brand container, with a good locking lid. That stopped them. This house that I am in now, we have so many outdoor cats in the neighborhood keeping the mouse/rodent/vermin population nearly at zero. I have my exposed soap in the hall closet.

Once I open a #10 can, I repackage it using a vacuum sealer. Same with the big pail of grain. When you vacuum seal freeze dried, you must stop the vacuum process just as soon as the bag forms around the food. I didn't stop the process soon enough and I now have freeze dried onions in 1 cup bricks. Same for celery dices, cauliflower and broccoli. It isn't a great loss, because I planned on using all of those in soups and stews. I get the flavors, and the 'dust' acts like a thickener- we like thick, hearty soups. I vacuumed sealed the pail of wheat grain. When I make a batch of bread, it takes 3 pounds of flour. Well 3 pounds of grain grinds into 3 pounds of flour. The bags end up hard as bricks but flat, and all of them will not go back into the pail. I have the gamma seal for the pail, for easier entry. The bags of vacuum sealed grain that wouldn't fit, are stored in a plastic tote next to the pail. I plan on purchasing more grain- not only more wheat, but other varieties of grains too. Same with beans, legumes, seeds to sprout. To keep them fresher and safe from bugs and critters, these will also be vacuum sealed. Do a search on YouTube for stockpiling food/groceries, as well as food storage. There are some great ideas there.

I buy extra of what we eat. I no longer buy mac & cheese in the boxes- either the powdered cheese stuff or the shells and cheese. When the shells and cheese hits its expiration date only the shells are edible! That cheese in the foil turns into a brown, plastic smelling glob. Both hubby and I love mac & cheese, so I buy cheese whiz (or the store brand) and I have a variety of pasta to substitute for the macaroni. Shells, spirals, big fat elbow, egg noodles, etc. We love spaghetti too - long gone are the days I make it 'from scratch'. I buy the jarred sauce and add the meat. Used freeze dried chicken the other day- pretty darn tasty! The only brand of canned/jarred foods I will not buy is Hunts. It is just too sugary sweet. I haven't tried any of the MRE yet. Do have Healthy Choice/Maria Callandars mixers. Individual servings that you add water to the bottom portion, nuke- then nuke the sauce and mix. They are okay- I will fix them for breakfast or lunch on days we are not all that hungry. I have been buying tuna in the 6 & 8 packs at WalMart, Rite Aide, and now it is at Safeway- 10 pack for $6.99 of Bumble Bee in water. That is $0.70 a can, and the cans are 6.5 oz. I really dislike the taste of powdered milk. Have had since I was a child, and then Mom mixed up a quart of powdered milk and added a quart of whole milk. I can drink 2%, but I much prefer whole. I don't cook with whole milk though. I use evaporated milk. We eat lots of Rice-A-Roni Pasta mix and Lipton's Pasta Sides. As well as the rice sides. The pasta nearly all calls for some milk- so I use evaporated. I buy the cans when they are $0.69 or less each. Got three cases at the last case goods sale at the local store. Got them at $0.49 each! I bought Rice-a-roni on sale for $0.79 a box, then vacuumed sealed each box. They won't sit on the shelf, so I put them into plastic totes. Same with extra spaghetti, macaroni I vacuum seal and store in totes. When you vacuum seal pasta you have to stop the process just as the air is removed other wise it will continue on for some time and crush it all into dust! Same when you vacuum seal freeze dried food. Stop the vacuum just as the air is removed, other wise it will suck everything out and turn your freeze dried food into a solid brick. Once you open the bag- you will have to chip away to get anything, and it ends up dust. I can live with freeze dried onion dust, and broccoli and cauliflower. But I learned before I turned the FD Mushroom slices into a brick! I used to buy flour in the 5 pound bags when they cost $1.99 or less. Then I would put them in my freezer to keep the bugs out of them. Well, I needed the freezer space! So I vacuumed sealed the bags. Those will sit, bagged, on a shelf. The only down side is you will have to sift the flour before you use it. I do the same with 5 pound bags of sugar. Try out Emergency Essentials - that is where I got my freeze dried, dehydrated and bulk foods from. Cash & Carry (Smart & Final) also has enough bulk, large amounts of foods. You pay cash, debit or credit card- NO personal checks unless you are a business and register with them. The bricks of yeast there are considerably less than from EE. Popcorn in the 12 pound bags are less per pound than any of the stores, including WinCo. I have more than enough pasta- so I haven't even looked at the price of the 5 pound bags. 8 years ago I paid a little more than $3.25 for elbow, shells, and egg noodles in the 5 lb bags. Don't know what it is now. When you buy pasta, transfer it from it's brittle packaging into something else. Even the pasta that is in boxes- either vacuum seal it, or regular seal it. I had bought some Barilla whole wheat pasta at clearance for $0.79 a box. Totally did not vacuum seal it. Well now it has the taste of the box. Tomato based sauces with plenty of basil, oregano hide that flavor- but I will not make that mistake again. I over vacuumed sealed two boxes of lasagna noodles. Now I have pasta dust. Will use that to thicken soups, sauces, etc. My two older sisters never married and have lived together since forever. They purchased all sorts of long term storage foods. Whole wheat grains, rice, dried beans, legumes. After 20 years, they had to toss most of it. It sat in the garage and gathered moisture, fed the neighborhood mice population, along with weevils and other bugs. Very little of it did they actually consume. From their mistake and over sight, I now treat my food storage like it is a grocery store. I stock only what we eat. If something is on sale and it might make a good long term/emergency item, I buy one or two- eat them and decide if it is something that we could eat for a week or two in an emergency situation. Hence the Healthy Choice Mixers. We liked them when first bought. So I bought a case of mixed flavors when they next came on sale. A month later we tried some. Still good. Three months later- still good. Soon it will be the 1 year later time frame. If it is still good one year after the purchase date, I will get a lot more when it next comes on sale. I have stated on this forum before, don't throw away your empty liquid laundry detergent bottles. Remove the spout to get the last 1/4 cup of soap out, then fill them with water. Do not wash the soap out, just fill with water. Now mark the bottle clearly- SOAPY WASH WATER. If I can get my detergent by the case I do so, and save the boxes to put the soapy wash water bottles back in. Easier to stack them up in. Use this water to flush toilets with when your water is shut off (like when the water company is working on the lines, or it is temporarily off during freezing weather). Also use it to hand wash knickers with in an emergency situation. When the tax money comes in, I want to buy two rain water barrels so I can collect rain water. This is the water I will use, in an emergency, to rinse hand washed clothes. I am old enough to have witnessed AND remember Mom using an electric wringer washing machine. She saved the rinse water to use as wash water for the next load of clothes. Starting with whites and working up to the darks. A little bit of bleach in the water never hurt the lightly colored clothes or towels. She used rain water collected in the six barrels placed around the house outside. We also used rain water to wash & rinse our hair. I have really deep cupboard shelves. I can not reach more than halfway back- so they are really a hindrance. Again, when the tax money comes in, I am purchasing pull out shelves. Have some metal ones for two of my cupboard shelves- work great, but they are really expensive. Have hunted around and found a company out of Canada that makes heavy duty plastic shelves. Will get two of the narrower shelves and give them a try. If they are as heavy duty as they claim, then I will get more for all of my cupboards.

Mind your own business. You have stewardship over yourself only.