March has come in like a lion and here in Missouri, we’re only weeks away from tornado season. In fact, it is Severe Weather Awareness Week and the 39th Statewide Tornado Drill occurred March 5th. When I asked ChefBoy how it went, he gave me his “what planet are you from and what did you do with my mother” look and said, “What tornado drill?” Nice! Hopefully his school district will manage to conduct a proper drill before a tornado warning is actually issued.

I wanted to do this article because after a fairly calm Holiday season, meaning not a lot of snow, we just got hit with about 17″ a week or so ago. As always happens when a storm of that magnitude is predicted, the store shelves emptied of bread and milk and even bottled water. Yes, it surprises me that some of my neighbors would worry enough to grab water! Clint teased me about how Walmart and the National Weather Service are in cahoots in order to move product. And, actually, I usually agree with him that the storm isn’t going to be so bad. But I had my own bad feeling about this last one and insisted that we be prepared for the worst.

1. Preparing for Disaster – Federal Emergency Management Agency

   Regardless of how you “feel” about FEMA, this brochure is a great place to start when you’re thinking about Disaster Preparedness. The first step is to be informed! It is not FEMA’s fault that the citizens of New Orleans were not prepared for a disaster. It was screaming across the Gulf of Mexico straight for them and those folks didn’t lift a finger to protect themselves. They were not informed. They did not know what the procedures were for a disaster. Don’t make the same mistake!

2. 72hours.org

   This site is based out of California and focuses on an earthquake. I like this site because it’s somewhat interactive and breaks the information down into categories such as utilities and first aid. We’re also on a fault line here in Missouri, so knowing some of the things that need attention (such as how to turn off the gas) after an earthquake is great! We should learn from those who have experienced such a disaster!

3. WebMD.com

   What I like about this particular article is that it was a feature of the Mental Health section of the site. A lot of people get really depressed or anxious when they think about the possibility of a disaster striking! From the article:

   “Individuals think that they have to do everything [advised by the experts],” says Michelle Hudgins, spokeswoman for the American Red Cross. “Everything is not necessarily right for you or your family. Individuals need to figure out what aspects [of the information] are relevant to their lifestyle.”

   The other thing I like about this particular article is that at the end there is a list of things in your inventory that you need to keep fresh. They’ve included a list of items and how frequently you should replace them.

4. Backwoods Home Magazine

   This magazine has been a great source of information for many, many years and this particular article I’ve linked to was written in 2002. Things haven’t changed much! Most people are STILL not prepared for a major disaster. We see them on the television on an almost daily basis! Anyhow, I like this resource because it goes into detail about the things that have and can happen during a disaster.

   During one earthquake in southern California, people were lined up outside hospitals to get Band-aids. They were so unprepared that they did not even have basic first aid kits, overwhelming medical personnel who were trying to deal with the severely injured.

5. Be Red Cross Ready

   arcbrcr.org is a great website to use to begin your preparedness plans! This site is completely interactive and lets you set up the information online and then send it to family members and yourself. If you’ve been putting off the planning, then this might just be the nudge you need to get the ball rolling!

By the way, we did stock up on foods that wouldn’t spoil or need to be cooked before the back to back snow storms that hit last month. We never lost power or water, so we didn’t need any of the extras we purchased! Now we have a small start to our own “long term” preparedness kit.

I want to leave you with a link to a great article called 7 Reasons People Refuse to Prepare for Disaster. My favorite quote is this:

I am certain that you have run in to people that are in what I like to call “Disaster Denial”. So what signs do these people display? (And no, I am not referring to the “I am blindingly stupid to reality” sign.)

Don’t be one of those “blindingly stupid to reality” people!!

The blogger!!

It’s that time of year when I get overwhelmed with paperwork and taxes and the only thing I can think about is what’s NOT getting done! If you’ve noticed that your favorite small business blogger has gone missing, they’re probably doing their taxes too.

All my planned organization has fallen by the wayside! I’m finding papers and receipts all over the place, and not all from last year! I managed to keep four months recorded and filed properly, but the other eight months are in folders, manilla envelopes, glove boxes, old purses, and even on the bedside table. Arrrrgh!

To give you an idea of what I’m up against… we have truck and trailer payments (interest is deductible, right?), insurance on those and the loads we carry, card fees and tolls and office supplies, oh my!! I’ve spent the last week on irs.gov just looking up publications and forms. Even though this is a yearly event, it’s like everything I ever knew about taxes has flown the coop!

And… to top it all off, I actually help others with their taxes. I know, right? I can’t get my own sh** together, and I’m helping other owner/operators fill out their taxes. It’s good karma! That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!

Now… love, live and cook like you get a refund no matter what!!

http://android.wordpress.org/

Very excited about the word press mobile application. My new phone has speech recognition so I can make notes without typing. I could get used to this!

Just wanted to use my new mobile application (new to me, not new to phone apps)! Hopefully, this will help me blog more. I have great ideas of what to blog about, but by the time I get to my computer, I’ve forgotten all of them.

Although I am keeping up with paperwork and loads, and I am still doing a little of the old paperwork each day, I have to confess that January is just a sucky month for truckers! First of all, the loads are much fewer and far between, so there’s not as much money coming in each week. Then there’s also the fact that we spent what we had at Christmas time, so there’s not much in savings, either.

Since the android app for wordpress is FREE, I’m not taking away from the family’s coffers to play! I also downloaded the “My Cook Book” app for my phone and have been enjoying it as well!

Live, love, and cook on your phone

Every new year, I resolve to keep up with paperwork better, and each year I make it a few more months than the year before! So, in addition to the regularly scheduled office work that needs to be done today; fax in the 2290 and maintenance report, find a load, recalculate the CPM (cost per mile), call for directions on loads booked, etc., I also have to sort the old receipts and get them into the work sheets so that taxes won’t be late this year. I’ll work on this a little each day to catch up, while keeping up with current paperwork.

So, today, first day back in the office after the Holidays, has been productive so far. I have the current paperwork finished and faxed in and the new file folders set up for 2012. I’ve also booked a load and am just waiting for the paperwork from the broker.

Bring it on, 2012!

Love, live and cook productively!!