The rest of the post!

Yes, the happy ending to the day!  I did get some birthday presents after all, and exactly what a gal like me wants most!

If this thing is half as Bad A$$ as it looks and feels, I'm going to be a very happy girl!  

I'm now the proud owner of an All-American canner, built right here is the USA, in Manitowoc, WI.  This thing is built for generations to come, it's simply unbelievable unless you are already familiar with them.  I researched the heck out of it but it still didn't prepare me for the quality and heft of it.  A really nice manual & canning guide came with it.  I purchased it from Amazon at the best price I could find at $179.99.  I can't wait to use it, I feel like canning the world, LOL

The other gift was from my hubby!  I have been using a PDF version of this on my computer since my printer is dead, but now I have a real hard copy to flop down on the couch with and mark up to my heart's content!

But why does hubby have to spill random coffee or hydraulic fluid on it before it even gets to me?!

For those of you that might wonder, no, we aren't LDS, but some of you may be familiar with their ideas on preparedness.  They advocate preparing a year's worth of stores, almost require it even of their members, and have lots of good material on the subject, as well as a few websites out there devoted to it.  I guess we could call ourselves "cultural Mormons" in that we value family, preparedness and a few other of their ideas.  Their doctrine states that although they should not drink alcohol, provisions are made for alcoholic drinks made at home, ha!  So I guess we are doing that :)  It actually stems from the fact that they were persecuted and sources of alcohol and other food items could not be trusted as safe, so they highly recommend home gardens and canning as well.  Too bad about their views on gays and gay rights, otherwise they might be able to convert me :)  I better watch it, they probably have people trolling the blogs and they'll be over here tomorrow morning.  That's okay, I'll listen intently and then turn the tables on them, they'll be my interns by noon at the latest.

Gosh, I sure am having a ranting kind of day, aren't I?  But check out the items covered in the manual, pretty neat stuff.  There's also tons of checklists, self tests on supplies and other things not always thought of, like ways to store water, fuel and cash.

Do I feel bad about hubby using his work printer to get this for me?  Nope!  I figure if he has to work 80 hours a week and be gone for half of the year supporting a war for a government that occasionally threatens to pull the paycheck out from under us, well, a little "preparedness guide" is just what military families need!  Am I a little weird for liking these kinds of gifts?!