When The Best Help is NO HELP

For quite a while I have been giving serious thought to presenting, on my blog, the information from a small book my husband wrote because, in spite of all of our best efforts and prayers, things don’t always go the way we would have hoped.  I would continue my regular posts on Fridays and add another day for this. Today I told Dave what I had in mind. 

Was it a coincidence that he was sitting at that very moment at his computer  (which is right next to my computer) reading a newspaper column by Carmen Rasmusen Herbert entitled “Don't worry; be a happy parent.” ? 

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865595056/Don’t-worry-be-a-happy-parent.html

We don’t believe in coincidence.

Carmen worries about being a good parent and she gives some of her concerns and conclusions. She also quotes from others. I’ll list a few highlights. Hopefully your interest will be piqued enough to check out her article and get “the rest of the story.”

I will print Carmen’s words in red and the others she quotes  in different colors. 

As I’ve sat and thought (and worried) about who and what is influencing my boys, I came across an interesting article from Forbes titled “7 Crippling Parenting Behaviors that Keep Children from Growing into Leaders.”

According to Forbes contributor Kathy Caprino, one of the behaviors to watch out for is "rescu(ing) too quickly."

Another hindering behavior, according to Caprino, is that "we rave too easily."

I heard this before I had kids and thought it was ridiculous. How is it possible to praise a child too much?

In his recent acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, actor Matthew McConaughey said his mother strongly encouraged adventure and hard work.

“If it was daylight, you had to be outside playing, and we’d go, ‘Why, mom?’ and she’d say, ‘Don’t watch somebody on TV do it for you, go out and do it for yourself.’ ” Because of her encouragement and support, McConaughey’s mother was a positive influence in her son’s life.

“Because we’re not the only influence on our kids, we must be the best influence,” Caprino writes.

The best influence. That's a lot of responsibility.

Dr. Tim Elmore, author of “Generation iY: Our Last Chance to Save Their Future,” “Artificial Maturity: Helping Kids Meet the Challenges of Becoming Authentic Adults” and “Habitudes,” shares:

“It’s important for parents to become exceedingly self-aware of their words and actions when interacting with their children, or with others when their children are nearby. Care enough to train them, not merely treat them to a good life. Coach them, more than coddle."

Part of taking the worrying out of living is the knowledge that you’re continually striving to do your best and teach correct principles by training and coaching and then allowing your kids to fall, fail and find themselves. That, I think, is the toughest, most crucial part.

Carmen’s  article was the answer and perfect introduction to what I have felt the need to do. 

This small booklet evolved from a talk Dave gave in Church in November 2006. It was not a traditional talk but apparently helped a lot of people realize they were “not alone.”

Two months later we printed six copies of the talk.  Those initial copies developed into this booklet. It has been printed in small quantities (10-25) at a time, as requested, through only word of mouth “advertising.”  We quit keeping track of the numbers in December 2010 after we passed the 500 mark, but now print 50 at a time.

We are saddened that such a need exists, but hopeful that it may be of some value in helping you through your trying times.  We are very thankful for our son who was willing to let Dave tell the story, and then, it’s transformation into a book. He has even passed them out to others from the very beginning. We appreciate his willingness to do this and are proud of the decisions he is finally making. 

“The Best Help is NO HELP” contains hard answers to hard questions about helping an addicted child or loved one. 

I will begin posting from this book on Wednesdays, beginning  February 5th,

Simple and Scrumptous Meringue Cookies

Dave's Mom Jennie was famous  for her "white cookies" ---- not only among family members, but in her neighborhood. They were also a frequently sought after confection for the wedding receptions of friends' children.

It amazes me how I could have, over the years, forgotten something so yummy and so simple. I remembered them this past week when we were attending a get-together where some of the attendees were on gluten-free diets.  They were a hit!!!!

Puffs of chip-filled meringues are heavenly

Along with my three- ingredient peanut butter quickies,  they top the charts for ease.

The ingredients: 
3 egg whites, 3/4 cup white sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and one heaping cup chocolate chips. 

The directions: Turn the oven on to 350 degrees. Cover a large cookie sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the sugar, about one-third at a time, beating well after each addition. Continue beating until stiff peaks form. 

Fold in the vanilla and chocolate chips. Drop by  teaspoon "fulls" onto prepared pan.  They do not spread so you can space them close together. 

Turn Oven OFF. and immediately place cookie sheet on the middle rack of oven.  Leave them (without opening the oven door) for at least 45 minutes. They should be dry to the touch (unless you live where it is humid -- they will be chewy rather than "crunchy" but still good). 

Let cool completely before removing from pan.  Makes about 36.

Just because I thought it was simple enough that even I could do it, I figured out the calorie count.  If I am correct it is 17-1/2 calories per cookie. That makes them even better!

Hints and Helps:
This was the first time I have made them with a stand mixer.  I couldn't imagine a 6-quart bowl would do anything with only 3 egg whites but boy, was I wrong! The whisk whipped them up in no time and then on low, folded in the flavoring and chips!  It was a breeze. 

Make sure your utensils are completely free from any grease or oil residue because even a teeny bit will keep the whites from peaking.

The same is true if even a teeny bit of egg yolk is in with the whites.*

You can vary the flavorings and flavors of chips.  We also love orange and mint.  Other ingredients can be added if desired.  Tinting the beaten whites with a couple of drops of  regular food coloring is also great. It is fun to experiment.

* I was sure I shared this trick on my blog before but I couldn't locate it so I went Google-searching again.  There are several sites explaining/demonstrating this method but this is the first one I came across.  It is worth watching. Even though most of us won't understand a word she is saying, the video "says" it all. I, along with several others now have a designated "squeezable" egg separator bottle.

http://www.thekitchn.com/the-best-trick-weve-seen-to-separate-eggs-video-176095

'til we eat again,
      I am Simply, Gail

P.S. The 3-ingredient peanut butter quickie cookie is listed in the cookbook on the right side of the blog, under what else . . . cookie: peanut butter quickie

What If . . .? Did you Know Seemingly Harmless Batteries . . .

Could Be the Culprit in a House Fire?

I didn't !

Until I received two e-mails this past week --- both warning us of the danger of storing batteries, even used batteries, haphazardly.  

Have you ever stored out-of-package batteries in a junk drawer or sack?  

I have!

We shouldn't!

The following is the e-mail I received with the sender's comments, followed by the link telling how battery fires start and how to prevent them. 

This applies to all batteries you dispose of; and you always need to be aware of loose ones coming into contact with anything conductive. I always wrap the terminals of any “dead” batteries before disposing of them.35 years in various generating stations and locomotive design/maintenance gave me a very healthy respect for fires.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSJH21WmALc  

I watched!
Hopefully you did also!!!

Create a Snack Basket Filled with . . .

portioned sizes of a variety of treats----for  a fraction of the cost of their commercial counterparts.

I don’t think I ever made a New Year resolution before I was married.  And I know positively neither Dave nor I have made one in our 51 years of marriage.

That said...  Well, actually, I don’t know why I said that.  I guess because I also know, positively, that Dave and I eat more, way more, than the portion sizes listed on the box, or can, or recipe or whatever.  The only time we don’t is when we don’t particularly like what we are eating.

And, in all honesty, how many of us are going to sit down with a glass of milk and a package of Oreo cookies (I have just discovered I LOVE the mint ones!) and eat the listed serving size of two!? The punctuation may be wrong but it is right in saying what I mean!!

You know why they make the portion size so low?  Because they are attempting to make the calories and fat grams sound reasonable by listing an absolutely unreasonable serving size.  That’s why!  What else could it be?

As I have posted at various times in the past, we are trying to eat more healthy. At times we do better than others.  I started the basket thing a few months ago and it has worked quite well.  It causes us to pause and decide what we want to snack on, sweet or salty? soft or crunchy? before we start nibbling away.
And the little packets set boundaries that we don’t do a good job of setting ourselves.

More and more grocery store shelves are filling with tons of “quick snacks”--- portioned and packaged for us----at outrageous prices.

My first step was to check out the snack-y items we had in our cupboards. 

I read the portion sizes of each and counted or measured each portion and zipped it in a snack-size zip-lock bag.  We had a starter selection of wheat thins, caramel-type popped-corn with peanuts, dried apples, dried bananas, pretzels, mixed nuts, and hulled sunflower seeds.

These were the first items to go into a large wicker basket I put on the bar that separates the kitchen from our eating area. 

Next I went to the store and picked up regular-sized boxes some of the sweet cereals we snack on when traveling and zipped them into packets. We like Chocolate Krave, tiny Cinna-bons, and filled/frosted Mini Wheats.

During the holidays we were given packages of pistachios and yummy little mints (It is nice how every package provides the number of servings it contains.) and each were added to the basket.

At the post holiday sales, in their own clearance basket for 75% off,  I grabbed two boxes of candy canes and a couple of bags of individually wrapped seasonal chocolates and did the same.  One bag of mixed types of mini candies had different portions for each: peanut butter “Santas”, snowflake” mint patties and milk chocolate “trees” so I packaged them accordingly: one santa, three snowflakes and two trees.

I wasn’t sure about the practicality of the candy canes, but who could pass up  12 full-size canes for 24 cents. (They are great when you longing  for a  long-lasting treat).

The basket sits on our bar in full view and we have not abused it (or ourselves).  

We are pretty amazed. People that drop by find it fun to search through the basket until something strikes their fancy.  I guess it is kinda like the candy dishes in banks, and other service providers.

I had decided I could be a little extravagant and throw away the empty snack bags but that went against my cheapskate-ness and all it took was for one of our snack-takers to ask where she should put the empty bag.  Now a clear plastic one-quart deli container nests among the full bags and holds the empty ones.

Try it ---- you may like it, and find it works for you, too. 

The Family: A Proclamation to the World

THE FAMILY

---

A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD

The First Presidency and Council of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

WE, THE FIRST PRESIDENCY and the Council of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, solemnly proclaim that marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God and that the family is central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.

ALL HUMAN BEINGS—male and female—are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny. Gender is an essential characteristic of individual premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose.

IN THE PREMORTAL REALM, spirit sons and daughters knew and worshipped God as their Eternal Father and accepted His plan by which His children could obtain a physical body and gain earthly experience to progress toward perfection and ultimately realize their divine destiny as heirs of eternal life. The divine plan of happiness enables family relationships to be perpetuated beyond the grave. Sacred ordinances and covenants available in holy temples make it possible for individuals to return to the presence of God and for families to be united eternally.

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT that God gave to Adam and Eve pertained to their potential for parenthood as husband and wife. We declare that God’s commandment for His children to multiply and replenish the earth remains in force. We further declare that God has commanded that the sacred powers of procreation are to be employed only between man and woman, lawfully wedded as husband and wife.

WE DECLARE the means by which mortal life is created to be divinely appointed. We affirm the sanctity of life and of its importance in God’s eternal plan.

HUSBAND AND WIFE have a solemn responsibility to love and care for each other and for their children. “Children are an heritage of the Lord” (Psalm 127:3). Parents have a sacred duty to rear their children in love and righteousness, to provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and to teach them to love and serve one another, observe the commandments of God, and be law-abiding citizens wherever they live. Husbands and wives—mothers and fathers—will be held accountable before God for the discharge of these obligations.

THE FAMILY is ordained of God. Marriage between man and woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity. Happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Successful marriages and families are established and maintained on principles of faith, prayer, repentance, forgiveness, respect, love, compassion, work, and wholesome recreational activities. By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the necessities of life and protection for their families. Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners. Disability, death, or other circumstances may necessitate individual adaptation. Extended families should lend support when needed.

WE WARN that individuals who violate covenants of chastity, who abuse spouse or offspring, or who fail to fulfill family responsibilities will one day stand accountable before God. Further, we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets.

WE CALL UPON responsible citizens and officers of government everywhere to promote those measures designed to maintain and strengthen the family as the fundamental unit of society.

The Family is Under Attack

The quiet book marathon was fun and is over---for good.

2014 and the challenges it will bring are upon us. I feel strongly the need to set the lightheartedness aside for a while and concentrate on what we can do with where we are to avoid going where we don't want to go. 

The loud minority throughout the world is trying mightily to influence the vast moral majority and . . .




To quote Albert Einstein: 
"the world is a dangerous place to live, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."

The family is under attack. All across the world families are falling apart. The place to begin to improve society is in the home. Children do, for the most part, what they are taught.  We need to make the world better by making the family stronger.

The Bible, Isaiah 5:20, warns
Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

I think we are there!  Our being pushed to accept abhorrent behaviors in the name of tolerance is beyond reason. Our being pushed to "political correctness" is over the top.

In 1995 the president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Gordon B. Hinckley,  presented

              "The Family: A Proclamation to the World." 

It  has been printed and distributed in many languages, not only to church members and others throughout the world but to government leaders in many lands.

In part, this proclamation to the world states

• marriage and family are ordained of God and central to His plan for the eternal destiny of His children.
• we are all spirit children of God, created in his image (see also Genesis 1:26-27)
• parents have a sacred duty to care for each other and teach their children
• happiness in family life is most likely to be achieved when founded upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ

While not officially in the proclamation to the world, President Hinckley taught:

If there is to be a return to old and sacred values, it must begin in the home. It is here that truth is learned, that integrity is cultivated, that self-discipline is instilled, and that love is nurtured.

And, in 1998, addressing a  gathering of mayors and other public officials, at the U.S. Conference of Mayors he taught:

"To you men and women of great influence, you who preside in the cities of the nation, to you I say that it will cost far less to reform our schools, to teach the virtues of good citizenship, than it will to go on building and maintaining costly jails and prisons...

But there is another institution of even greater importance than the schools. It is the home. I believe that no nation can rise higher than the strength of its families."

I will present the proclamation in its entirety in next Friday's post.

Quiet Book Pages: Will You Allow Me One More --- Sorta Final Finale to This Project?

A few posts ago I reported on a blog I found using old baby clothes to make a cute quiet book. I think I said, at the time, they were so cute I would probably have to make some.

Here is the site:

http://www.piecesbypolly.com/2012/12/fast-easy-quiet-book-made-from-baby.html

And . . .

Here is my excuse for making more pages. I have two friends that want to make quiet books for their two young grandsons but, and this is a big but, neither sew nor craft --- nor do they want to learn.

Another big but is --- they really, really want these books and I won't make them for them.

I found some simple "boy" pages, modified them to make them even easier to do, and am helping them.I don't care if they never do anything crafty again, and I don't expect them to become seamstress-es but I am excited to report they are learning to hand overcast and sew on buttons. I strongly feel it is is important for everyone to know how to do these basics (and maybe a couple more).

 I am Simply, Gail simply doing my part to try to make that happen. . .
and enjoying the process.

The original blog (check it out above, used a onesie for the shirt.  This shirt is
cut from heavy Pellon with the collar (and buttons you can't see under the tie) drawn on with permanent marker.

Polly, from the above site,  has made her double-sided ties out of stiffened t-shirt fabric.  I used 2 different patterns/pieces of felt to make my reversible ties, making it  easier for my friends. I will have them overcast the top part of the tie to securely enclose the magnet because it is a (funny) challenge to sew that part on the machine because the magnet keeps sticking itself to the metal part of the machine.

Polly stacked her ties on top of one another in the book.  I cut the pants from a piece of felt and left the waist open so the ties tuck in there when not in use.

Note: I have them hand overcast stitch any parts when they don't want to use the sewing machine, which is getting them used to the machine because it is so much quicker!

We cut the bottom off this long-sleeve onesie  to fit the page and used a zig-zag stitch
around the edgesleaving the front section of the neck open and the sleeves loose.

Hands were made from a double thickness of felt, overcast around the edges and stitched inside
the bottom of the sleeves. The play-ee can patty cake with the hands, or fold the arms to pray.

With this next page the onesie was too large for the page so we used just the front part and cut it down to fit. We cut the sleeves off and slipped them underneath the front after it was cut down to size. This shirt has the addition of snaps for another learning activity.  You could have something inside if you wanted. She hasn't added the hands yet.

I hadn't realized I had the cute applique covered in the above picture. So, just for the fun of it,
I am printing it again.

Boy baby clothes have come a long way since our boys were born in the 60's and 70's!
I found several really cute ones at the thrift store --- enough to add this type of page
to all 12 of the books I am making.

I found a just for "boys" quiet book site for my friends Barb and Shauna. It has some very cute and quite elaborate pages.

http://allthequietthings.blogspot.com/2013/03/quiet-book-boys.html

I made the tool box from that site with the following changes:

• I used sticky-backed craft foam letters from the Dollar Tree (124 letters in 4 different colors). They are sticky enough that they are almost impossible to move once they are placed on the felt so be careful when you place them. In spite of that, I still hand stitched them also.
• Instead of felt I used, again from the Dollar Tree, 4x6 inch foam sheets (32 sheets, six colors in each package).  I made them double thickness and since the glue didn't hold them together as much as I wanted I hand-stitched them together.  I think I will still try felt --- either the stiff kind or the stiff sticky back kind, but then again, those cost a lot more! And I will probably still feel I have to sew them "to be sure".
• I wanted something else to fill the space on the page so I Googled "free clip art 6 inch ruler," selected the one I wanted and printed it (as many times as I could get on a page since I need 12 plus those for my friends) on colored card stock.  I enclosed the ruler in a section of a page protector and stitched around it, making sure to round off the corners.  I think I will take the remaining 12 rulers to Staples office supply and have them laminated!
• I attached the ruler with a brad so it can be moved back and forth on the page.
• And, purely serendipity, the ruler, when moved down over the tools will help them stay in the tool box!

I think my eyes must see crooked!  Have you noticed how almost every
page is slightly (or not so slightly) off kilter?

Finally (have you heard that before on this blog site?) I happened on a couple of other sites that

I adapted. I always like to give credit when I can but unfortunately 1)  I can't remember where I found 

the original ones and 2) I have changed them so much they probably would not be recognizable. The pieces, on both pages, are simple enough to cut without patterns. And Barb sewed  both of these. 

The original was a regular truck with a felt truck bed and big felt wheels you buttoned onto big black buttons. It did have a pile of dirt, fastened to a cord,  you could remove from the truck.  

We made ours a dump truck.  

• We used plastic craft canvas for the body to 1) eliminate some sewing and 2) to add some texture.  
• We made it "dump" by securing the back corner with a brad.  
• The brad at the front of the truck bed is to (try) to keep the front of the bed from dropping down.
• The wheels are each cut (and sewn) from double thickness of stiff felt.  
• Instead of having them button on, we wanted them to turn.  Originally we were just going to use brads.  Husband Dave came up with the idea of having the brads go through metal washers.  Genius!!! They added so much. 
• But, as usual, even though the fit was good, I was afraid the brad would somehow slip through the washer so we used gray thread and overcast stitched the washers to the page before adding the brad.  I think the stitching added even more to the look. 
• The dirt load is a double thickness of brown embossed felt with the end of the cord sandwiched between the two pieces. The other end is securely sewn under the back wheel.
• The dirt pile is a single piece of the embossed felt.
• The cab has the window hole cut out.  Barb drew the steering wheel on a piece of card stock a little larger than the hole, covered it with a piece of page protector and stitched it to the back side of the window hold.
• We added the same sun that I had used on the earlier barn with animal finger puppets page.

Barb's grandson has three older brothers. She wanted to make them a part of the book. This is what we came up with.  Instead of looking a lot like windows as they had on the original page we found, Barb

wanted to make it bright and basic.  Each of the three top window flaps lifts up to show a pocket (cut from page protectors) that will hold a photo of one of the brothers. The large window on the bottom opens from the middle to show mom and dad. When little Kashton opens the door ---- he will be there!

Barb did almost all of this herself. I sewed the inside section on the door (it was needed to
cover the stitching of the letters and heart) and sewed on the doorknob. 

I apologize for the crazy formatting that is showing up with some of the sentences.  I am too tired to try any longer to fix them and I want to get this posted in case any of you are trying to get a book done for the

holidays.

I'm not sure what my schedule will be the next couple of weeks but I will be back on my regular Friday schedule after the first of the year, if not before.

Wishing Peace on Earth to everyone at this time of year as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.