A New and Healthier You . . . Well, Most of the Time

On Tuesday evening, the women's organization at my church hosted a special evening titled "A New and Healthier You." It was a freezing cold evening (snowy and blowy, with a windchill temp. of 6 degrees!) so I wondered what the turnout would be but about 30 turned out so we had a good group.

A darling young mother of five (Jamie) taught the first class on stretching and strengthening exercises and relaxation. Jamie is a great example of someone who turned her passion into her profession, second of course, to being a mother. She took a yoga class four years ago and loved it so much that she became a pro at it. She now teaches yoga, jazzercise, pilates and more, and has been able to greatly supplement their family's income by so doing.

Following Jamie's great instruction, we had healthy refreshments. Amber is our "food coordinator," and you can trust anything she touches to be both beautiful and delicious. She made the darling, smiley-faced melon with the wild "fruit kabob hairdo." I took shrimp and some veggies with a dip I concocted using low-fat cottage cheese and non-fat plain yogurt, blended smooth in my Magic Bullet, and seasoned with dry Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning. The gals seemed to like it. There were a number of other yummy offerings and I don't think anyone missed the extra calories.


The second class was taught by Gaylynn and she made me proud. I say that because a number of years ago she and her husband transferred to MO from UT. She had been pursing a B.S. degree at the University of Utah in exercise physiology. Missouri State did not offer that degree, although we offered coursework to support it. She came to me to see about an Individualized Major (a program I coordinated prior to retirement). She got her Individualized Major, then a Master's degree. She is now the Wellness Coordinator for one of the two large hospital systems here. She also teaches at MSU. She is very knowledgeable and a great teacher. She taught us how to set (and reach) realistic goals, and provided great answers to a number of questions from the audience.

It was a great evening with lots of good information.

Life is life, though, right, and sometimes ya just gotta celebrate. I mean, when your 90-year-old friend looks at the menu and asks, "What is fried ice cream?" and admits she's never tried it, and a second friend says she hasn't either, isn't it sortof in the job description of the remaining two of you (who, by the way, HAVE had it and loved it) to make sure they don't leave this life without adding that experience to their culinary repertoire??!!!! Well, yah! :)

You can see from the picture that we all partook of this not-so-healthy, but very fun dessert, at the Mexican restaurant we ate at on the way home from our trip to the St. Louis Temple today.

We had so much fun and such an uplifting day. I'll just close this entry by saying, "Oh how I love my SISTERS, both biological and "adopted."

My Take on "Afternoon Delight"

If you are someone who neither loves the smell of bread fresh from the oven, nor drools over it when it's warm, slathered with butter and maybe some homemade strawberry jam, you will not appreciate this blog. But, as for me, and my family--well, you can blame my Mother. I was raised on homemade bread.

Actually, it was Daddy who was first raised on homemade bread, and having little desire to switch the store-bought, "white fluffy stuff," he took pride in taking credit for teaching Mother to bake bread. Well, she was a star pupil! She raised our family on it. And, my sister Donna took a precious video of Mother baking her last batch just two days before she died. Mother literally rose from her sick bed, announced that she wanted to bake bread, and asked to be transported to the kitchen in her wheelchair. Ingredients were placed on the table before her and she proceeded to mix her bread and knead it in a large, stainless steel bowl on her lap. My son Jon and I were in WY at the time and were blessed to be participants in that experience. It will be forever etched in our memories.

At the end of 2009, I purchased a Nutri-Mill (grinder, for anyone who might not be familiar). I opted for an electric one. With travel and the bustle of the holidays, I had not had a chance to even open the box, and I decided it was high time I tried it out. Fortuitously, I received an email last week from a friend through whom I order the steel-cut oats we love (mixed with Canada's Red River Cereal) for breakfast. Lynn was hosting a bread-making demonstration. I decided that was just the shot in the arm I needed to get going, so off I went. I have baked bread on many occasions and for many years; I had yet to grind my own wheat. I came home armed with confidence and eager to give it a try. Alas, with a weekend full of Reed's basketball games and other kiddo-commitments, the bread-baking got put on the back burner. But, yesterday afternoon the time was right!

I unpacked my Nutri-Mill, acquainted myself with the machine, gathered my ingredients, and went to town. I don't have a Bosch (like Lynn and other members of my family use) but my professional-grade Kitchen Aid mixer has a dough hook and plenty of power to accommodate a two-loaf batch (she didn't even break a sweat so I don't think I'll burn her up any time soon).

Mid-afternoon, I took the loaves from the oven and, while the bread was still warm (of course!), I sliced three slices and headed downstairs to share the treat with my hubby (he LOVES homemade bread). He liked my version of "Afternoon delight." :)
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I commented to him that I thought I might start saving for a Bosch, and maybe buy one by the end of the year. Not only would it allow me to make 4 loaves at a time (enough to share with the kids) but I would likely get the food processor attachment inasmuch as the food processor I'd used for years died a few months ago. Steve's comment was that if I continued to bake homemade bread, he just might need to buy me one for Christmas. Hmmmmmmmmm..... Sounds like a win-win situation to me!

Often when Mother baked bread, she would save some of the dough to make hot scones when we got home from school. Hot scones with butter and honey are one of the best DESSERTS ever! We always felt well cared for and loved when Mother baked bread for us. Our grandchildren are eager participants when it comes to sampling homemade goodies, as well. And it makes me feel good when I know that bread made from wholewheat flour is so healthy for them. Ky wanted to test it out with a piece of toast with her breakfast, and happily gave her stamp of approval to use Nana's bread for her sandwich in today's lunch. (Paula has to be at the hospital at 6:30 a.m. and Jon to work a little before 7 a.m., so Jon drop Ky off each morning at 6:40. She has breakfast with Nana and Papa, gets ready, and practices her piano. We have scriptures and prayer together and one of us takes her to school. Jon pays me her lunch money--that I use for an allowance for Ky--then I make her a lunch for school which is far healthier than the school lunches they serve.)

I think the bread was an all-around hit. Mother--and Daddy, too--would be so proud.

NOTE: Due to my own experience, and because some other member of my family (or yours) might have a similar situation, I want to add a note about allergies. Although I grew on my Mother's bread (mostly white when we were younger), as an adult, I could not eat Mother's bread without getting a severe migraine within half an hour of consumption. It was so good that I was a slow learner, but after 4 tries and 4 migraines, I declared, "I may be a SLOW learner, but I'm not a NO learner," and I gave up trying it again. Thanks to my sister Lynda, who thankfully loves me enough to do some detective work and figure it all out, we learned that the difference in the bread Mother was baking (at least in recent years) and the baked goods I make without problems is the yeast. Mother used SAF and I am allergic to it, I've learned. As long as I use Fleischmann's or Red Star, I have no problems. I'm so glad Lynda figured that out. (And, I might add, she baked with yeast I could have when we were in WY together. I hope she knows how much I appreciated both that and her figuring out what the problem was.) So, if you have trouble tolerating a particular kind of bread, you might consider what it is that you could be allergic to.
Two of our eager bread samplers, of course, are Reed and Ky. The picture of rosey-cheeked Reed was taken immediately following his second basketball game on Saturday. The picture of Reed and Ky was taken after the games when we took them to
eat. It's not the best picture of Ky but I included it because it reminded me that she loved the new top I got for her on Friday so much that she "begged" to wear it on Saturday. Why not? And the black hat she's wearing is one she bought recently with a little spending money she earned for getting such a great report card. Way to go, Princess! Like I've said before, "We're not proud or anything." :)

From Daylight to Date Night, Fun, Fun, FUN!

On more than one occasion,I've been accused of being both "determined" and "resourceful." Perhaps last Friday I was both. I was, in short, a "woman on a mission" and was not to be easily deterred.

I think it was in November that I found some microfiber dish clothes which turned out to be my favorite of any I've ever tried (and let's face it; if we cook--and I do--we do LOTS of dishes). I loved them so much that I shared them with several of my favorite people, namely my sisters and a couple of friends. All of them seemed to want "More, please, and we'll pay for them."

I've tried for three months to get more but to no avail. I bought them at T J Maxx (a store that proudly advertises, "never the same shopping experience twice"). That's because they don't order their merchandise; rather, it is shipped to them from a massive "warehouse in the sky" (my words, not their's), and they never know what they will receive from one shipment to another. I think Thursday afternoon was my fifth trip across town to T J Maxx since November, for the express purpose of buying more of the dish clothes for these favorite women in my life. Alas, they still didn't have them. I decided to talk with management and determine whether I could order them or talk to someone who have enough pull to try and get some more sent to the store. They reiterated the fact that they have no control over merchandise received but asked if I would be willing to drive to Joplin (70 miles) or Branson (40 miles) if either store had them (they would call and check for me). I said I would be willing to drive to Branson (love that drive and most any excuse to go is acceptable).

Long story shorter, Branson said they had them. I said, "Please hold them! I can't come this afternoon (I had an appointment) but I'll drive down in the morning and get them." Well, Friday morning it was snowing, and rain and/or snow were forecast for most of the day. The temperatures were in the high 30s so the roads were wet but not slick. I would normally have called a girlfriend or two to go with me, but I was afraid that delaying might mean winding up in Branson facing slick roads on my return trip. I decided to head out on my own.

I did, in fact, find my coveted dish clothes (and they also had dish towels in the same microfiber; the colors were not ideal but, hey, I was thrilled with them in any color at this point). I bought so many that all the clerks were curious. I should have received a commission because I think I convinced all of them to buy some themselves!

I found a few more bargains, including a darling top for Miss Ky (that, thankfully, she also loved) for $7.50 and Gold Toe tennis socks that I'd been hunting for a while. Don't you love it when that happens?!!

Now for the fun part. The temperature stayed above freezing and the roads were fine. In fact, after a while it cleared, and I decided to visit a couple of favorite haunts when I got back to Ozark (about 10 miles south of here). It was past lunchtime and I was hungry so I decided to get a bite to eat at the Riverwalk Jazz Cafe. Some yummy Chicken Salad and a cup of Tomato Basil Soup later, I headed next door to The Persimmon Tree.

I've always counted on it for a healthy dose of eye candy, and I've yet to be let down. They had a wonderful display of old-fashioned, popout Valentine's cards. I would love to have photographed them but supposed that might not be appreciated so I restrained myself. They had a display of handcrafted albums, from Valentine greetings to Recipe albums to wonderful Journals---hmmmmmm--gave me lots of great ideas.
A couple more miles closer to home and I decided to check out a new store I'd seen advertised but had not visited (my friend "Garage Sale Susan" confirmed it was someplace I'd want to visit). Susan was right! Oh my! I was running out of time by now and it's probably a good thing because they already had wonderful prices on designer overstock items, and they were having a huge sale (50% off the discounted prices on shoes and handbags). I decided to buy myself a Valentine's present and treated myself to a new pair of red boots and a matching designer bag (only $12.50 each!!!!). Don't you love them?!!!! It's simply so much more satisfying to buy something you love when you truly get a bargain for it. The only way I'd have paid less is at a garage sale, and Susan has earned the distinction of being the garage sale pro (she finds designer clothes and accessories with the price tags still on them at garage sales for $2-$3!!).

I thoroughly enjoyed my "solitary outing" but it was time to head home because Friday night is our Date Night and we had plans for dinner and a movie. We went to Millwood (the golf and racquet club where Steve--and Gary--play golf whenever the weather permits) for dinner. Steve had recently framed a plate as a favor to Gary, and paid for by Gary and several of his friends who belong to Millwood. The plate was in honor of one of their friends who recently died. The friend had hit a "hole-in-one" just before he died, so the plate included the flag, golf ball, score card and pencil, etc. It is hanging at Millwood at the present time but will be given to the friend's son after a while.

Following dinner, we went to see AVITAR. WOW! If you've seen it, you know what I mean. If not, well, it's hard to describe. It's a far cry from the 3-D movies we saw as kids (I saw maybe one that I can remember with the little red and green thin plastic glasses). I spent the entire movie asking myself, "How in the world did they film that?" Like everything from electricity to computers--how it/they actually work, I mean), it's beyond me! A date with my hubby was the perfect ending to a very fun day.

I LOVE PEOPLE, but once and a while, it's fun to spend a little time by one's self, with lots of time to just think or sing along with the radio, or whatever. I highly recommend it.

The End of the "Birthday Season"

I come from a very large family, so when birthdays come around, birthday greetings may start coming in a day or even a few before the actual birthday, and may extend for several days beyond. Frankly, I like extending one's birthday celebration for as long as possible, and have always said, "Never mind shooting for the actual day; any time in the 'birthday season' will be great."

This year our family has had even more than the usual number of things going on it seems, so when my birthday rolled around earlier in January, there simply wasn't a time when all of us were available to celebrate. Jon and Paula and the girls came one evening, bearing roses and tulips and cards, and we had a great visit. But Gary and Sara and Reed were not available to join us then. Each weekend since, one family was available but not the other, until this Sunday. The kids announced that they would be bringing dinner and we would, finally, celebrate Mom's/Nana's birthday."

So, last evening, they came and brought a yummy spaghetti dinner AND my birthday cake. I really had to laugh, and will smile for some time in the future, every time I think about it. Sara went to the supermarket to buy a birthday cake. Reed went with her and really, REALLY wanted to pick out "Nina's" birthday cake. (Reed has always called me Nina, despite the girls calling me "Nana;" hey, that works for me!) Sara finally agreed and Reed picked out my cake.

When they arrived, Reed came through the front doors, carrying the cake himself, and beaming ear to ear. I got so tickled at the cake he chose and thought his Nina would LOVE. And, of course, I did! Don't you?
I love Monday evenings because I pick him up from school and his Papa and I get him through dinner. That gives us plenty of time to practice our skills at playing Old Maid, War, Crazy Eights, Dominoes, Chinese Checkers, Wii, and a growing repertoire of activities. He always wants to top the evening off with an ice cream cone and is much fonder of ice cream than any cake. As for me, well, more even than the Cookie Monster cake, I just love this adorable, blue-eyed boy.

Knowing that I will grow old, and likely "laughable," whilst my grandchildren are still young and mentally alert enough to cause me great embarrassment, should they choose to do so, I really should be guarded in what I say. But, throwing caution to the wind, I simply must share on my blog something that Reed said that is too cute (and innocent) to go unmentioned.

We all know how children can pick up sayings at school that aren't necessarily what we most like for them to be saying. Reed had heard the kids refer to their hind ends as their "butt." Gary and Sara had been encouraging him to use milder language such as "behind" or "buns." Reed promised to try to remember to use these preferred terms.

I think it was following an ice storm, when the kids had been sledding (although I seem to be somewhat fuzzy on that detail), but Reed came in and told his parents in all seriousness that he'd had an accident and his "breads" hurt. Of course, we simply couldn't let that go, so as the evening wore on, several mentions were made of "the Jensen men and their great 'breads'."

A yummy dinner and an evening with the family--what a perfect ending to my 2010 "Birthday Season."

One More Time . . .

Okay, okay, it's probably "enough already," but I woke up this morning thinking about Steinbeck's book OF MICE AND MEN, and got to wondering what connection it might have to the "best laid plans of mice and men" quote by Burns. I continue to be amazed by the wonderful resources the internet places at our disposal, and when I Googled it, lo and behold, this is what I found:

"Of Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California.
Based on Steinbeck's own experiences as a bindlestiff in the 1920s (before the arrival of the Okies he would vividly describe in The Grapes of Wrath), the title is taken from Robert Burns's poem, To a Mouse, which read: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men . . . ."

I am a real genealogy buff, so I'm a huge fan of the internet for the doors it opens to those of us searching for relatives, both living and dead. But, in addition to that, there's simply little that one cannot find there. When I was in WY in December, spending a couple of weeks with Daddy, there were at least two occasions when he asked me a question about something neither of us could remember (I can't now recall the particulars). In both instances, I said, "I'll be right back." I went to Mother's computer (although she's no longer with us, I still call it that because it was Mother who used it and not Daddy) and returned shortly with the answers we were seeking. Dad just looked at me and shook his head. "You can find ALL THAT on the computer?" I said, "Oh yes, and lots more. In fact, there's little one can't find on there."

I love many old-fashioned things and ways, but I must say I'm extremely thankful for modern technology, as well.

With that said, I'll sign off for now and head to our grandson's basketball game. Perhaps more about that later. Have a great day and stay safe and warm!

"The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men . . ."

I sat down at my computer a few moments ago to add an addendum to my "Feed My Sheep" blog, lest I leave any readership with the false impression that I did, indeed, feed the missionaries evening before last (as was my intention, no doubt!).

The thought that came to my mind as I searched for a title to this blog entry was "The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men." Rather than simply type it in as today's blog entry title, it occurred to me to Google it to learn to whom the quote should be attributed. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was none other than the Scottish bard Robert Burns, himself! And with this quote pertaining to my failed "Burns Night Supper," I could not help but laugh. What a coincidence!

My research revealed that the quote did, indeed, come from Burns, who used to be a farmer. The poem from which the quote comes was written after Burns ploughed through a mouse's nest out in the winter fields. I guess even mice can prepare for everything but the unexpected. Source: To a Mouse, November 1785

At Book Club last evening, my friend Eden remarked that she had read my blog about feeding the missionaries and the resultant fiasco. I told her that I had typed up that blog while I was waiting for the missionaries to call and let me know they had returned so I could deliver the food to them (for the second time).

Well, it turns out that with all that was involved in the transfer, they were not able to return before 10pm, and dinner didn't work out afterall. I did not mind the inconvenience; I did worry that they went without dinner. I know we can skip a meal, and sometimes it's even good for us, but still . . . I kept thinking, "It could be my son, or yours." Afterall, my sister and her husband are serving a mission right now, and . . . My mind wandered and then I reminded myself that my sister is a great cook, and is always sharing her food with everyone within delivering distance! On the other hand, my cousin is serving a mission in Mozambique, and Jake and his companions usually rely on the members to share meals with them.

The bottom line is, I certainly don't plan to stop feeding the missionaries; further, I hope to continue to try to serve their favorites. But, I hope next time not to "plough through the mouses' nest!"

So, what does one do when one has prepared enough taco meat, fresh chopped tomatoes, avacado, etc. to feed four hungry missionaries? It sounded to me like Taco Soup. So, I used half of the taco meat for a pot of Taco Soup (I froze the other half); made some cheese Quesadillas, and we had a hearty meal on a cold winter day during which we were blanketed with beautiful, white snow! The Ozarks feel a lot more like my home state of WY tonight!

"Feed My Sheep" (Will that be Neeps, Tatties, or just plain Tacos?)

We've all heard the phrase, "Be careful what you ask for." I smiled when that saying came to my mind yesterday. Let me explain.

I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (affectionately referred to as the Mormons). In our Church (as in many others), we have full-time missionaries, who serve at their own expense for usually two years, to assist us in our efforts to share with our friends and neighbors the good news of the gospel. To help them and us in that effort, we sometimes have them into our homes for a meal and to share a lesson with friends, neighbors, or family members who are interested in hearing a message of hope in a troubled world. I recently signed up on "The Missionary Calendar" to feed the two Elders (young men ages 19-21) who are assigned to our Ward (congregation). This evening was to be the dinner.

It occurred to me that it would be nice to fix THEIR favorite dishes instead of my family's for this occasion, so I asked them to share their Moms' email addresses with me a little over a week ago. I told them I wasn't going to tell them why I wanted the email addresses, but that they would know before the month was over.

I heard from Elder Phillips' Mother but had not heard from Elder Simakov's Mother, so I went ahead and planned the menu and did the shopping. The menu couldn't have been simpler: Soft-shelled tacos; refried beans; lime jello salad with cream cheese (I guess it's true what they say about Mormons and lime jello :); and chocolate ice cream. Elder Phillips has a non-diabetic, sugar allergy so the ideas really helped.

What was also very fun was that his Mom said they are of Scottish descent and this week is Scottish Heritage Week. Many families in his home state celebrate with "Burns Night Suppers," in honor of Scottish poet Robert Burns. She suggested I ask him to speak a little Scottish Gaelic for us, and also ask him if he knows what "Neeps" and "Tatties" are, and maybe share a Scottish poem.

Being of Scottish descent myself (on my Mother's line), my interest was peaked! I now know that "Neeps" are turnips, and "Tatties" are mashed potatoes. I even found a very fun little Irish prayer that I thought we could read as a "choral reading" before the blessing on the food:

A Grace Before Dinner
O thou who kindly dost provide
For every creature's want!
We bless Thee, God of Nature wide,
For all Thy goodness lent:
And if it please Thee, Heavenly Guide,
May never worse be sent;
But, whether granted, or denied,
Lord, bless us with content. Amen!
by Robert Burns

I was not familiar with the above poem by Burns, but smiled when I came upon another more familiar one entitled "Comin’ Thro the Rye."

Taking all these things into consideration, I planned our own version of a Burn's Night Supper. I made the salad yesterday and was well on my way to preparing the rest of the dinner when I learned that, due to the ice and snow storm that is slated to move into our area late tonight, the "powers that be" decided it would be safer to go ahead and make the transfer of missionaries this evening before the storm hit. (One is moving to another part of our City and another is headed to OK, while two others are coming here.) So, I said I would prepare for the four of them instead and deliver it to their apartment as there was no time they could pin down to come here. (This was actually a good thing, I guess, since our granddaughter came down with strept last night. We kept her today and I took her to the doctor this morning. Her daddy came and spent time with her this evening but she's safely ensconced so she doesn't have to get out in the storm, and because she'll have to miss school tomorrow. I wouldn't want to expose the Elders!)

I wanted to blog about the fun little bit I learned about our Scottish heritage, but also wanted to address the "be careful what you ask for part."

I did hear from Elder Simakov's Mom yesterday. She had been busy and had just got around to checking her email. Understandable. I told I had already planned the menu but would have another dinner soon and prepare her son's faves. She sent several yummy recipes but I truly had to smile. First, I need to explain that she is Russian and has been in the U.S. "3.5 years and proud of it." The first recipe she sent me was for the following:
Herring Under Fur Coat or Seledka pod Shuboj (Herring Salad)
She suggested I might want to ask for help inasmuch as it would take me about an hour to fillet/bone the herring.

This recipe consists of beautiful and multiple layers of fish and vegetables and sauces, mounded and "frosted" with the sauce that is vibrant reddish from the beet juice. (For the not-so-faint-of-heart, check out this site:
http://www.enjoyyourcooking.com/salads/herring-under-fur-coat-herring-salad.html)
I really do think it would be fun to try sometime, but would need more than a moment's notice to plan and prepare. I think I shall pass the recipes shared by this neat Russian woman along to the Ward where Elder S. is moving. Who knows? Perhaps there's an adventurous cook there who will be willing to tackle them.

Bon Appetit!