I caught E mimicking the intro that I do for the PrimeParentsClub.com Pin of the Week again while she was playing, so I asked her if I could video. This is what happened. (PS: I love how she sounds a little like Nathan Lane around the 1 minute mark.)

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

There’s nothing worse than the feeling of losing something you love.

We had nice plans for Mother’s Day. We were going to get up, go to church with my parents and then take my mom out for a nice Mother’s Day lunch.

And then, reality set in.

E woke up Sunday morning with a cough and a little fever, and I wasn’t feeling great, either. We decided it would be best for us to stay home instead of spreading our cooties around church.

And then, the dog.

The Husband had let Destructo Dog outside on her tie-out while we were upstairs (this is nothing new). I had settled down in bed with my laptop intent on doing a little work and then sleeping for a few more hours. (Shut up. It was my Mother’s Day.) A little while later The Husband came bounding up the stairs and said that the dog is gone. Her collar was still there, but she was nowhere to be found. Thus started a four hour search for Destructo Dog.

I was hysterical.

It doesn’t sound that bad, I know–dogs get loose all the time. However, there was one thought that kept running through my head: she’s a pit bull.

People steal pit bulls to fight them.

People shoot pit bulls on site because of their “reputation.”

I was afraid for her. I was afraid that people would mistake her rambunctious puppy nature (she’s only 8 months old!) as aggressiveness.

I was afraid. Period.

If we didn’t find her, I would never forgive myself–whether she was stolen or she ran away. All I could think about all day is those awful Michael Vick dog videos–dogs fighting, bloody, maimed. All I could think about was all of those stories with pictures of pit bulls in cages, peering out through bars, scared and alone.

And that was going to be my puppy. Wondering where we are; why we left her.

It was awful.

After about four hours of searching and crying, our doorbell rang. Some people that we had told in the neighborhood had told some other people and, luck of all luck, a family that we had never even met saw Destructo Dog, called her name, and she came right up to them and into their car, where they safely delivered her home.

This is what “Pit Bull Mother’s Day Adventure Face” looks like:

Good for her.

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

I love animals, all kinds of animals. For this reason, I usually don’t see movies or documentaries about animals. If I do, I’m the one in the theater next to you with that annoying sniffling cry thing. So, when I partnered up with Sea Studios Foundation to preview the movie “Otter 501″ I waded lightly into the water, preparing myself to have some teary moments, and of course I did.

In case you haven’t heard about this family friendly documentary-type movie, Otter 501 is about a young pup otter that was found by a young woman named Katie when she washed up on the beach in California.

The star of the film is Katie Pofahl, a freshwater biologist from Wisconsin, who plays the person who found Otter 501. The three-day-old otter pup was actually rescued by the Monterey Bay Aquarium where a filmmaker was on-hand to document every step.

The film is told through Pofahl’s experiences as a volunteer at the Aquarium. She tells the story of the otters and environmental challenges through social media posts to friends and family.

Not only do you get to watch Otter 501′s rehabilitation through her stay at the aquarium, but you also learn a great deal about the history of otters and what dangers the declining environment is posing to these amazing creatures.

The film is probably best suited for ages 8-10 and up (depending on the maturity of the child), but it is extremely family-friendly (our four year old watched with us). The scene shots and film of the otters in the wild are magnificent.

I found the film a little “draggy” at the beginning, as it is a lot of back story about Katie and I just wanted to get to Otter 501. However, once it got into the history, information and animal shots, I was totally sucked in.

Otter 501 opens today, May 11, in limited release in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Monterey. If you get a chance and you’re interested in animals and the environment, then see it. Be sure to stay all the way through the credits because there is important information on one of the otters provided. (You’re welcome.)

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©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

As society continues to shift, we are seeing more and more changes in families–especially for parents in “prime” ages, mainly 40 and up.

More women today are putting their careers and needs first, choosing to wait until later in life, perhaps when they are more established, to start families.

As parents start having kids at older ages, it creates this odd blurring of lines when you see them in public. You have questions: grandparent or parent?

We get it; it’s confusing for you. Guess what? It’s confusing for us, too.

However, here are five questions you should keep to yourself when you see a 40-something woman with a baby or toddler.

Read the rest of my post on GalTime

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

E surprised me this morning by coming upstairs to show me a “Diagnosis Book” she had quietly been creating while I showered.

Ok, a four year old creating a diagnosis book is weird enough, but it’s what happened when I asked her if I could video her while she explained it that really cracked me up.

You see, a few days ago I taped a video for my parenting site with her and did a whole lead in with who I am, the site name and introduced E. She completely shocked me this morning when she mimicked my lead-in for this video. If you listen closely at the beginning you can hear her try to get out, “This is Ella from PrimeParentsClub.com and this is my protégé, mommy.” (I KID YOU NOT.)

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

Over the weekend The Husband, E and I headed out to another city to see a dinosaur character and do a nature walk. As we arrived in this city, we noticed an interesting message on the local library sign:

(Pause for reaction.)

After the laughter subsided, The Husband and I had an entire discussion about 1) Why this would seem like a good idea for the local library, and 2) What exactly would you make for mom for Mother’s Day out of DUCT TAPE?!?

Me: What do you think they’re going to make moms with duct tape?

The Husband: (no thought at all) Pasties.

Me: (silence)

Me: Now why would you think that kids would make pasties for mom boobs with duct tape?

Him: (shrugs) What else can you make?

Me: What shape? Like a big ‘X’?

Him: No, you know, fashion a duct tape heart pastie or something.

Me: Hm. What about a wallet? They could make a wallet.

Him: Or a flower pastie.

Me: … or a can holder.

Him:  … or any shape of pastie would work with duct tape.

Me: So, you’re sticking with kids making their moms pasties with duct tape, huh?

Him: Yep.

What do you think those kids were making for their moms out of duct tape?

(PS for Dads: Don’t get sucky gifts. You still have time.)

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t miss the awesome giveaway at the bottom of the post!

I don’t know about you, but I’m so tired of throwing out food because we didn’t eat it before it went bad. It’s a waste of money and it’s just … irresponsible. Especially when I think of all the people who have so little, and here we are unable to eat the food we buy before it goes bad.

For a while now, I’ve been wanting to try food dehydrating. Dehydrating food is simply the process of allowing air to move around food in order to dry it out by removing the water. (Really, it’s that simple.) The process also inhibits the growth of bacteria once the food is in the dehydrated form and you can store food a lot longer this way.

And, you can dehydrate almost everything–meats, fruits, vegetables (and even some weird stuff that I’ll talk about in another post!).

Why Dehydrate Your Own Food?

1. Control what you eat. Dehydrating your own food allows you to have more control over what you are eating. For example,  I can dehydrate tomatoes from my own garden or the local organic market and know that no pesticides are in there.

2. Prep and stockpile. Not only is dehydrating a great way to store food in a small amount of space if you prep for emergencies, but it’s a good way to preserve those food items you know are going to go bad before you use them.

3. Save money. Take advantage of farmers’ markets,  your own garden bounty, or even supermarket sales and specials by dehydrating a large amount of food at lower costs.

4. Cooking. Your own dehydrated food is awesome for cooking and baking! Use your dehydrated items in salsa, recipes and your favorite cakes, breads and pies. It’s fantastic to dry fruits and vegetables found only during spring or summer months so you can have them during the winter, too!

To get started on my dehydrating, I was super excited to partner up with Nesco and try out their Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator.

It was totally like Christmas when I received it in the mail! (I seriously watched the door for a few days when I knew it was going to be delivered!)  The coolest thing was that my four-year-old daughter was just excited, so it’s a good way to teach kids about preserving and storing food.

And, you can dehydrate EVERYTHING with this dehydrator! (DUDE! You can even make soups and fruit rollups!) There are five trays, so you can actually do five different layers of food at one time.

I asked E what she wanted to dehydrate first and she said strawberries and bananas. Here’s what we learned in the process.

Food Dehydration 101

1. Cut the slices thin and uniformly. Thicker slices cut at different sizes will dehydrate differently or remain rubbery.

2. Don’t let the foods touch. When placing them on the drying rack, don’t let the foods touch. Remember, dehydration works by circulating the warm air all around the food. Touching foods aren’t going to dehydrate properly (and they’ll stick together).

3. Know how the food you’re dehydrating is going to act. For example, strawberry chips will become crispy, but bananas may remain a little rubbery. Don’t expect all food to dehydrate the same.

4. Store the food you dehydrate appropriately. Air and moisture aren’t good for dried foods and they can become limp or rubbery. Store them in air-tight containers in areas that aren’t exposed to constant light. (Don’t forget to label them!) Your dehydrated food like fruits and vegetables will last from one gardening season to the next (a year); while dried herbs last a lot longer (years). Dried meats are different and I would recommend storing them in the refrigerator if you haven’t eaten them after a month or so. (I’ve been thinking of investing in a Vacuum Food Sealer to help store food longer.)

How long you dehydrate something will depend on what you are dehydrating. Our strawberries and bananas dehydrated overnight and were ready when we woke up in the morning. One of the things that I really liked about the Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator is that not only does it come with an awesome book on dehydrating different types of foods, but it also has the food times and temperature listed right on top of the dehydrator. (So convenient!)

I was also pleasantly surprised with how easy the dehydrator was to clean. I thought it was going to be a sticky mess to clean it off, but most of our strawberries and bananas popped right off and I wiped the trays clean. (For real. I.KNOW.) The only thing I missed was that the dehydrator doesn’t have a built in timer, so you have to time the food yourself.

The dehydrated fruits have been a big hit in our house, to the point that E asks for them as  her snack. We’ll definitely continue dehydrating items to save money, be healthier by controlling what we eat and to help our prepping efforts.

Additional Dehydrating Items

You may also like the following to use with your dehydrator:

Nesco BJX-5 American Harvest Jumbo Jerky Works Kit

The Dehydrator Bible: Includes over 400 Recipes

Nesco American Harvest Fruit Roll-Up Sheet

Now, are you ready?

Nesco Food Dehydrator Giveaway

The Metal Ware Corporation has provided me with another professional level Nesco FD-75PR 700-Watt Food Dehydrator with a list price of almost $80 to give away to one of you! (I know! They rock, right?)

Just leave a comment below on why you would like the dehydrator. You have until May 31, 2012, at midnight to leave your comment. After that, I will randomly draw a comment number for the winner (be sure to leave your email in the email field!).

Sorry, U.S. entries only for this one.

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©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

More riveting marital conversations (MRMC). This is a real conversation that took place between my husband and me. (We’re not really cartoon characters. We just play them on the Internet.)

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.

“Prepping” is all the rage right now. There are websites, articles and even television shows about something called “the preppers movement.”

It simply means that people are preparing for emergencies.

You may have recently seen a lead for an article I posted called ‘Preppers’: Prepping for emergencies doesn’t mean you’re insane. As I discuss in that article, most of the time when you hear “preppers” it is accompanied by words like “doomsday” or “apocalypse.” It conjures images of people digging bunkers in their backyards and stocking them with machine guns and peanut butter and pallets of canned tuna. Although that may be true for some people, many preppers are not that extreme. In fact, most of us are prepping in order to become more self-sufficient … for whatever reason.

So, prepping doesn’t have to be related to the end of the world. Instead, I would like to see prepping equate to people thinking about how to help themselves, their friends and their neighbors in case of emergencies–real world emergencies that are happening today like Katrina, the tornadoes in Joplin, Missouri, or even things like losing your job, or getting a pay cut to where you can’t make ends meet. Even preparing to being cut off from society for a little while. Think that’s extreme and there’s no way being cut off from society could happen in this day and age? Over the winter I read a series of posts from a blogger written over a 10-day period (and then published later) when she was stuck in a snowstorm in her house with no electricity and only her dog as company, all roads were inaccessible by fallen trees and she was far from the neighbors that were home. After reading her posts, I’m pretty sure she wished that she had been a prepper.

In our house, we became “preppers” when I worked at a technology company in 1999–right before the switch over to the big Y2K. I worked for a technology company and even the people who were running the company were prepping for disaster! It was during this time that I realized prepping wasn’t about being crazy or paranoid, it was just being … prepared.

Think about it for a few moments: what if you lost electricity for a couple of weeks starting today? Look around your house. How would you cook? Shower? Keep your kids warm and occupied?

Or, what if you had to evacuate your house immediately due to a chemical spill in your area or wildfires spreading toward your house? The authorities aren’t going to give you time to pack. They will just knock on your door and make you leave. Do you have a bag with some extra clothes and water packed and ready that you could just grab and go?

And, what if you’re stuck in your car in a snow storm … or in the desert … or wherever? How long could you survive? And, how?

These are things I think all of us should think about … and prepare for.

My hope with this new section is to cover some prepping tips so that you and your family can become more self-sufficient, no matter your reason for prepping.

And it doesn’t even have to do with apocalypse.

Do you do any “prepping” for emergencies at your house? Do you thinking “prepping” is crazy? I would love to hear your thoughts!

©2012 WritRams.com. All Rights Reserved.