Happy Halloween! (073/365)

Good evening Sir/Ma'am.  My name is J and I'm a Wilderness Explorer, Tribe 54, Lodge 12.  Are you in need of any assistance today?

:P  I loved my Halloween costume.  I made it on a whim in about an hour + shopping time.  I was really happy to find the polo (yeah, I know... it's not a button down...) at the local Factory 2 U store for only $1.00!  Everything cost me less than $10.00 to make.  The clothes together cost about $7.00 after tax ($5.00-some for the khaki shorts, $1.00 for the polo).  It was thrown together fairly hastily so I'll be perfecting this next year and my bestie is going to be Kevin.  :)

Pumpkin Carving 2012 (072/365)

Carved a My Little Pony pony tonight with my bestie.  :)  It turned out pretty nicely for something I wasn't even sure I was doing right.  :P  My bestie carved an Ariel for her niece.  Originally she was going to a Vader, but her niece (age 3) convinced her otherwise.  :)

As always, I had a great time with her.  :D  I also learned some new Spanish words while we were at the market.  My favorite word is bombones!  :P  We also had some escamochas.  :)  Deeeeeeeelicious!  :D

Fire Starter Wafers (071/365)

Went ahead and made some fire starters today.  The traditional wax + cotton ball fire starter has taken a spin and we're making wafers instead.  :)  I find these easier to store and use.

What you need:

1. wax paper - to keep a clean area and used as a place to dry the final product
2. cotton rounds
3. wax - I used an old candle and a crayon 'cause I wanted to color it
4. double boiler - I used my mess kit pot and the bottom portion of a soda can
5. tongs/tweezers - something to pull fish your fire starter out of the hot wax
6. popsicle stick (optional) - used to stir the wax during the melting process
7. knife (optional) - used to cut/shave the wax

I set everything up so that it's easy to access and maneuver.  Here the wax is shaved and a piece of crayon is tossed in.

The melting process.  :)  

Dip your cotton rounds in.  Let any excess wax drip back in.

Let dry.  :)

The final product!  To use, just break 'em open and fluff out the cotton.  The fluff makes it easier for the sparks to catch.  These are easily lit with matches, a lighter, or even a flint/fire steel.

**CAUTION**

Please take great safety measures when doing this project.  Keep a fire extinguisher nearby (mine was to the left, outside the picture frame!).  DO NOT douse water in a fire that is fueled with hot wax - an explosion can occur.  DO NOT melt wax directly over a flame - please use the double boiler method.  At a high enough temperature, wax can combust.

Cheers!

Garage Sale + A Long Nap (069 + 070/365)

No pictures.  I was much too busy this weekend.

First off, G.I. Joe SAR held a garage sale fundraiser on the 27th.  We didn't get any sleep (well, I knocked out for a little while) the night of the 26th, as we were prepping all the items to put out and set up for the sale.  We then stayed up all through the wee hours of the early morning to set up the driveway.

As soon as I got home the afternoon of the 27th after the fundraiser was over, I decided I needed a nap after a [mostly] sleepless 24+ hours.  By the time I got home, it was about 1430.  What was supposed to be a quick nap before finishing up some homework readings ended up to be a 15 hour nap.  That's right.  I didn't wake up until 0530 the next morning.  This was 15 hours of STRAIGHT sleeping.  I did not stir one bit that night.  That may be been the best sleep I've ever gotten.  :)

Tomorrow, I shall work on making some fire starters.  :D  It'll be in the upcoming edition of G.I. Joe SAR's monthly newsletter.  If you'd like to join their newsletter and see future emergency/survival/safety tips, feel free to e-mail and request to have your e-mail added to the list at GIJ4.11@gmail.com.

Cheers!

Idea: Micro Buddy Burners - Part 2 (068/365)

I took another shot at "perfecting" the micro buddy burner idea again.  This time I went with a cross wick in hopes that it wouldn't burn up the wax too quickly.  I also put in slightly less wax so that when it melts it has somewhere to go and hoped that it wouldn't smother itself out like last time.

It gave off a very nice flame.  I had to smother it out prematurely because the wax started to spit and pop (much like how cooking oil pops when you're frying foods).  I'm not sure if it did that because it had contaminants or because the wax I was using was a mixture of vegetable and paraffin waxes.

In either case, other than the popping, it worked perfectly.  I plan attempting this same setup again, but using a different wax.  Again, the candles used for this was from IKEA.

:)  I also learned to actually WRAP the foil around the bottom of my mess kit instead of just laying it flat.  :P  That way the soot doesn't really creep up on my pot as badly.

I'm glad I had the extinguisher and the snuffer and all that at hand.  When the wax started popping, I got a little scared.  I took a deep breath and a second to think about what I was going to do and then went ahead and took the pot off and snuffed the flame out.  :)  You DO NOT want to freak out and flip this thing over!  NO BUENO!  Always take safety measures when you're working with fire, y'all.

>>  Check out Part 1 here  <<

Disney's Trick-or-Treat Night (067/365)

I went to Disneyland tonight with 2 toddlers and my best friend in tow.  We had a great time taking the kiddos out trick or treating for the first time.

We got A LOT of candy for having only made like 3 stops.  The kids were dressed up as Pikachu and Charmander and looked adorable!  They were knocked out by 2100 hours and so we called it an early night.

It was nice of Disney to have a healthy option of packaged fruit if parentals didn't want their kids to have so much candy.  I know I enjoyed the Craisins quite a bit.  :)

I'm glad I brought along my Pygmy Falcon II, as it came in much handier than the Fatboy this time around.  I had packed it up with water for everyone and some toys for the kiddos (Play-Doh and glow sticks) along with the usual FAK and stuff.

Great night!  :)  I look forward to it again next year.

Cadbury Screme Eggs! (066/365)

Cadbury Creme Eggs aren't just for Halloween anymore!  I spotted these at my local Target about an hour ago and snatched up two of them; one for myself and one for Brother.  :)

I always pick up one each Easter (yes, just ONE).  I guess I get to have a year from now on!  :P

They're filled with green ooze.  Blurple made quick work of the operation.

Beaded Bookmarks + A Surprise (065/365)

These lovely beaded bookmarks came for me in the mail yesterday.  They also came with the nice little pouches you see above.  The pink bubble wrap was a nice touch as well.  :P

I got these from a contest on EDCF.  These were handmade by the wife (Debbi) of one of our members.  I had asked Mrs. Debbi to just have my name on the bookmark; lo and behold, she made a very pretty and intricate design for me!  I also asked that she choose the color scheme, since I'm no good at that.  :P  I absolutely love them!

Debbi even gave me an extra one, the "Road Rash Sucks!"  It was just to poke fun at the accident that I had a few months ago.  :P  I still have scars where the road rash was.  I thought it was hilarious and I absolutely love it!

To order your own, please visit Debbi's Designs at www.debbisdesigns.com.

Idea: Micro Buddy Burners - Part 1 (064/365)

I love making "Buddy Burners."  I don't know why; I just think they're really cool.  :)  For those of you who don't know what a Buddy Burner is, it's a simple stove made out of a tuna can, strips of corrugated cardboard, and wax (usually paraffin).

I've been making Buddy Burners for a couple of years now.  I've never actually used it as a stove (it produces a lot of soot, so it'd be my "last resort" stove) but I have used it as a source of heat (at like bonfires and such).

Eventually, this lead me to looking into and making soda can stoves/penny stoves/alcohol stoves, and the like.  At one point, I looked into tea light stoves.  I didn't like it because it seemed as though it was only good for keeping things warm.  That lead me to think about making buddy burners the size of tea lights!

As shown above, I did just that.  I won't go into detail as to how to make these since it's just the smaller version of the traditional Buddy Burner, and those instructions are all over the Interwebz.  I have yet to test out the burn time on these but will do so in the coming days once my midterms are over and I have some free time.

Be on the look out for Part 2 of this adventure, as I test out how well (or not so well) these work for boiling water and perhaps even cooking.  I also have plans to turn these into a smaller version of what would otherwise be known as a "Hobo Stove."

>>  Check out Part 2 here  <<

Oktoberfest (061/365)

G.I. Joe SAR held a fundraiser the past month and a half selling tickets to Oktoberfest at Old World.  Tonight, we had a couple tables set up so that people can come and learn about our organization.  It was a nice night together, meeting those who supported us.

I miss Joe.  A lot.  Words can never describe it.  That night, I shared a beer sampler and a bratwurst with him.  :)  Joe, I hope your SAR team has done you proud!

Overall, it was a great night.  I had a lot of fun with the Joes.  The people at Old World sure do know how to host an Oktoberfest.  :P  (Actually, it was my first time at one, so I can't compare.)

Surprise - A Victorinox Alox Cadet (060/365)

This came in the mail randomly today.  It turns out that the Troublemakers over at EDCF were at it again.  This is a limited edition purple Alox Victorinox Cadet.  I wanted it when I found out that they were making these, but didn't have monies for it.  Lo and behold, the Troublemakers made my dreams come true.  I was planning on grabbing it after the holiday season when (hopefully) my out-of-state relatives sent me some spending monies, but with only 50 of these made, it was a very slim chance that I would have gotten it before they sold out.

It's marked 27/50.  :)

Thank you to those who were involved in this operation.  :D  I absolutely love it and it'll definitely be in my rotation from here on out.  No shelf queens here!  :)

Ear Flap Hat: Cookie Monster Edition (059/365)

Time to break out the wintertime clothes!  :)  This is my newest addition to my ear flap hat collection.  :D  It's Cookie Monster!  This is the first one I have that's a character/animal/thing though (other than the Snorlax one I made a few years ago) - the other ones I have are just simple designs or solid colors.

Yay!  Cookie Monster!  :)  I feel like such a child.  But I'm a happy child!  :D

Hot, Wintertime Drinks (058/365)

It's finally the cold season!  Though... this week's weather report will make it feel otherwise... :(  It was raining last week and now it's inching toward 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  Ah well,

Cold season means that my mornings and nights will be enjoyed with hot drinks.  My favorites are in the middle; Good Earth Sweet 'n Spicy.  I've both the regular and decaffeinated version.  I'm missing a few others that I really like since I ran out, but that's the majority of the teas I enjoy, plus the apple cider  at the end.  :)

Ghee (057/365)

I decided to try my hand and make a mini batch of ghee today.  I didn't have all of the "proper" tools for it, so I winged it.  :)  I melted a half a stick of butter in my little egg pan.  I then skimmed off all of the foam from the top and put that aside.  I didn't really let it boil, so I'm pretty sure I didn't do it right.  It kind of was simmering and I didn't see the milk solids, exactly, but it did get to the point that it smelled like delicious toffee, however.

I put everything into a mini one ounce (?) glass jar that I salvaged from some old strawberry preserves.  I strained everything via a funnel and coffee filter.

This is the final product.  However, it's not as clear as it "should" have been.  I think I need to re-boil and re-filter, if that's possible.  It did come out to a nice amber color, though.  :)  My kitchen smells like toffee, still.  :D  This little jar is currently cooling off on the counter.  I hope I at least got all of the milk solids out so that I don't have to worry about it going rancid...

If this all works out well, I'll make a larger batch for next summer's camping trip.  :)

Dollar Tree Haul (056/365)

As promised, I took $10.00 to the giant Dollar Tree after school and got a small haul.  This is probably the most random bunch of stuff I've ever bought on any trip.  From left to right, top to bottom, we have:

• 6-pack of tissues, Phineas & Ferb ones:  Just in case I need to give them away to kiddos whose parents did not leave the house prepared (it happens often and even more so now that it's the cold season)
• shelf stable whole milk:  I read about these a lot of those "mommy blogs" a while back.  I'm not even sure how I stumbled upon it, but I recall many of them over on the east coast stocking these up by the case (if not the pallet).  One reason being that because they are shelf stable, they are perfect for emergency situations.  Another being that it's $1.00 for 32 ounces - that's half the price of what we pay for generic branded milks here.  I'm used to these because that's how the milks are sold in Vietnam anyhow.  This is probably my favorite purchase of the day.  I'd just bought a gallon of milk yesterday while grocery shopping at Target, so I'll wait until that's finished before trying this one.
• doggy doo-doo bag refills + the holder one:  These will be perfect for taking Max out.  It's got a little clip that I can clip on to his leash.  I've had these before and they're a little on the thin side (though at this price, I wouldn't hesitate to double bag, either).  But they work as they should; it's just less of a hassle to buy these and clip 'em to Max's leash than have to always remember to pack a bag every time I take him out.  The next cheapest price I've seen these for would be $5.00, sometimes without that extra roll.
• mustache comb + scissors:  haha... this was kind of a waste of a dollar, really.  But it was for Brother, whose 'stache has become a little unwieldy.  :)  He likes it.  It was moreso for laughs than anything else.  
• teeth whitening gel + mouth tray:  I've read good reviews about these.  Figured I could try 'em out.  *shrug.
• 4-pack of generic version of Colgate Wisp:  I figured these would be good to stash in the car or in my SAR bag.  It's half the price of Colgate or Scope and actually come individually wrapped, whereas the name brand ones come in weird foil things that once opened, exposes them all.
• coaster:  I needed a coaster.  :)  I was getting nasty condensation rings on my tabletop (thankfully glass) and "desk" (black painted wood).
• doggy bowl:  Max hasn't got a proper bowl yet.  :)  Now he does.  :D  

That's pretty much it.  I'll have to write up another post on that milk when the time comes.  :)  I hope it tastes better than that powdered milk stuff (though admittedly, I do use that for camp since it's easier and lighter to lug to the campsite).

Celestial Seasonals Tea Tin (055/365)

We got the first rain of the season today.  It was a nice cozy day in.  When the rain broke though, I was happy to be able to get outside and run some errands.  I stopped by Target to pick up some groceries and in the process, got a box of tea.

Y'all know I love my tins.  Luckily for me during this trip, Celestial Seasonings was celebrating something and had their Sleepytime tea in the "vintage" imaged box and came with a free tin inside.  Be on the lookout for these!  There was only one on the entire shelf that came with the tin.  All of the others had the vintage imaged (well, all of the Sleepytime ones, at least) boxes, but there was no sticker that stated there was a tin inside.

I'm not a huge fan of Celestial's "flavored" teas (the fruity ones, in particular), so I tend to stay away from those.  But you can't really go wrong with the chamomile tea of any brand.  :P  The tin's real cute.  I'll have to think of what I want to use this for.  :)

PS.
Nothing beats Good Earth's Sweet 'n Spicy (cinnamon) tea, though!  :D  It's my absolute favorite.

Silverdyn (054/365)

I got a sample of Silverdyn from a friend today.  I was at a networking event and they were talking about it and I got interested in learning about it.  I'm always down to learn about "new" (to me) products for camping and such.

Silverdyn's an inexpensive silver solution of sorts that disinfects your drinking water.  HOWEVER, it only works against bacteria, as far as I know.  This does not aid in the sterilization of water against viruses such as cryptosporidia and giardia (which was a little disappointing).  Apparently, you can put this stuff into a sink of water to disinfect the surface of your fruit and veggies too.

It's interesting.  :)

Dollar Tree EDC (052/365)

I stopped by the Dollar Tree by school on the way home today.  DANG!  It's the biggest Dollar Tree I've ever been in!  They've definitely got more stock than any other I've been to.  I think I'll stop by on Friday since I don't bike to/from school on Fridays and will have more time to mosey around.

During this trip, I stocked up on a few dollar's worth of my favorite super glue bottles (all of my local Dollar Trees have stopped carrying these; see above photo).

There were a bunch of items there worthy of EDCing or for BOBs as well.  There's a 5-pack of Purell wipes.  I think these ones were foil wrapped, so I'm hoping that (though pricey) they'll keep moist a lot longer than others that I have used.  I also saw generic versions of those "Colgate Wisp" type things; those came four to a pack.

Check back on Friday for a more!  Since I'll be recycling some cans that day, I'll have some extra "play" money and will probably put aside about $10.00 to put toward that day's Dollar Tree trip.  :)

California Custom Knife Show: Day 2 / First Custom Knife (051/365)

 

I did not do much at the custom knife show today.  Heck, Brother and I actually came later in the day at 1300, just in time for the Hinderer raffle (I snagged a raffle ticket JUST as Rob was about to walk out to set up the raffle table :D).  For the next hour or so, we didn't do much more than talk to a few of the knifemakers and take pictures.  I had an itch to buy something, even if funds didn't "allow" for it.  It was my first custom knife show and I wanted something to remember it by!

The knives you see before you are two friction folders made by Mr. Hiroaki Ohta.  He's a nice little fellow and I got both of these together for a total in the double digits.  :)  These are Brother & Sister (like "his & hers") knives.  Mine's the darker one while Brother went with the lighter one.  They're really great!

I think they look beautiful, and the price cannot be beat.  :D  This was the same man from yesterday where Brother, Tower, and Belush each got a custom box cutter.  

Anyhow, the day was slow and many of the knifemakers packed up around 1430.  I'm glad that I was able to find something that was well within budget (hint:  If I didn't find this, I would have picked up a Sodbuster), especially for a custom knife.  I'm a little bummed that Mr. Hiroaki did not put his mark on these blades (he only did so on the larger ones), but they aren't going anywhere, so as long as I know that they are my first real custom blades, I'm exceptionally happy.  :)

California Custom Knife Show: Day 1 (050/365)

Blurple taking a "family photo" with her step siblings, the Reeves.  ;)

Thanks to Plaza Cutlery, I got to go to my very first custom knife show today.  Brother and I went together and I eventually met up with some EDCF members.

It was a phenomenal event and to be honest, I didn't even know where to start looking when I came in! I was very much intrigued by the Japanese knives.  After walking around, I had realized that the knives that caught my eye each and every time were from these Japanese knifemakers.  :)

It was really fun trying to win the raffles and such.  I think the largest turnout for the lotteries and raffles was that of Mr. Hinderer.  It was insanely crowded when it came time for his lottery.  I hope I get a door prize tomorrow!  :P  I think that'd be pretty cool.

I didn't get to shake Mr. Reeve's hand as planned, but that's okay.  There's always next year.  :)

There were some CRAZY beautiful knives there.  :)  I can't even begin to describe them.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's update.  I didn't get to take pictures today (other than that shot above) since I forgot the memory card to my camera at home.  Oops!  Regardless, I had a great time today and look forward to tomorrow!

Pedometer (049/365)

This is my newest EDC addition.  :)  It's a cheap little pedometer ($5.00) from Wally World.  That's how many steps I took today, not including the steps from this morning's run!  :D  I never knew that I walked that much.  Actually, it's been steadily climbing ever since I got the pedometer and was more aware of how much activity I did each day.

I'm slowly training to become a better runner.  I always thought that I was a horrible runner, but turns out that I just never gave it the time of day.  My runs are currently between 8-10 minutes per mile and steadily getting better.  I'm planning on doing Color Run 2012 this year.  :)

I would eventually like a "better" pedometer than this in the future.  Not necessarily "better," but I remember wanting the Switch2Health (S2H) Replay last year.  But as there were some bugs in the function and design, I decided to wait for the S2H Step to come out.  It's $25.00 and you receive a code for every 10,000 steps that you take.  Those codes translate to points, which in turn can be used to redeem prizes (gift cards, coupons, etc.) from their website.

Now that I think about it though, I wonder if the S2H does distance and calorie conversions as well or if it's just a simple pedometer.  In which case, I've been getting a lot of recommendations for the FitBit ($60.00).  Still, the idea of getting rewards just for doing my daily activities intrigues me.  :)

Boxcar Children (048/365)

This beautiful boxcar and set of books is going to its new home with another EDCF member.  :)  I got these books in early grade school, in about the 3rd grade or so.  I LOVED the Boxcar Children series.  I still do, actually.  Before packing these things out to Gnarls, I took the liberty of re-reading the adventures of Violet, Benny, Henry, and Jessie.  :)  Great stuff, even at nearly 2 decades since I'd last read them!  It brings back such fond memories.  :)

I hope the kiddos enjoy these books as much as I did when I was younger.  :D

Monkeys in the Barrel (047/365)

Teehee!  :)  I found this little thing at Party City the other day while I was getting some small goodies to make my Halloween goody bags for this year's trick or treaters.  For $0.59 or so each, I picked up a few to give away and kept this purple barrel for myself.  It's actually a pretty hard game to play!  Or maybe it's because my monkeys have deformed hands, who knows.  :P  I think the most monkeys I've linked together so far is like 6.

The barrels come in various colors, including purple, red, blue, and green.  I think yellow is there too, but I can't remember, as I was only interested in the purple one for myself.  Each barrel comes with 10 monkeys.  I think it's hilarious that it's called "Monkeys in the Barrel," since it's a knock off of "Barrel of Monkeys."

I think I'll rid the barrel for now and stick all of these monkeys into my Altoids Game Tin.  It kind of defeats the purpose of getting a purple barrel, but maybe I can use it to store something else on my keychain instead.  Though it's a little large for EDC.  :)  Blurple's modeling the barrel for size comparison.  :P

GITD Duck brand Duct Tape (046/365)

I found glow in the dark (GITD) Duck brand duct tape last night while roaming around Wally World.  :)  They're kinda cool.  You can get a full sheet of them or get them in various Halloween shapes.  On the backside of the packages, it shows you a couple of ways to use them; some decorative, some for safety reasons (kind of like adding 'flector stripes to your clothing).

:)  Yeah.  They're just kinda cool.  :P

Gloves (045/365)

I finally got around to adding gloves to my FAK and Tin o' Stuff.  It would have definitely come in handy when I had my accident last month - I kind of recall Sis cleaning up my gash and getting my blood all over her.  These ones are stored in those EZ-Dose zip baggies by the pair before getting stashed in my FAKs.  :D  These baggies aren't the best at keeping air out, so I'll have to look for a more compact method... or better zippies.

I didn't get a chance to get the Nitrile ones as I had planned, but these ones will do for now.  These are vinyl ones (latex free) that I had gotten at Wally World.  They are a little on the pricey side at 8 gloves for $0.98 per box, but that's okay.  The Nitrile ones that I'd wanted have been out of stock in my size for quite some time (and Harbor Freight usually only has the medium or larger ones on sale).