Here are just a few tips for your 4th of July picnics.

It’s hot. Keep it simple. We often love to take our fanciest desserts or dishes to a potluck but if you can’t get something elaborate done don’t worry. Hands down when ever I go to a potluck it is the simple dishes that disappear first. Even something as easy as a platter of sliced tomatoes layered with sliced cucumbers on a bed of lettuce will look and taste lovely on a hot summer day or a plate of fruit lined up in rows on a pretty platter will disappear quickly. If you have some whipped topping to use as a dip for it great if not don’t worry they will eat it anyway.

A pan full of brownies or a pile of rice krispy treats never last either. Of course plain old chunks of cold watermelon and cantaloupe are a must for the 4th.

To save on the expensive of soft drinks, serve cold sweetened ice tea or lemonade instead. One thing to remember when making tea, lemonade or kool aid is to be sure to not at as much water as the recipe calls because if you are going to add ice later it will dilute down. There is nothing worse then a watery tasting drink. Of course you can freeze some of the drink itself to use for ice later and that will help with the dilution.

Add 1-2 tsp. of mint apple jelly to your ice tea for something different.

Add any of the following to lemonade for a  cool and refreshing drink:

1/4-1/2 cup cranberry juice

1/4-1/2 cup cherry juice

1-2 tsp. of cool aid powder, strawberry, cherry, raspberry, lime or punch.

Jill

For my holidays I usually like to keep things simple like always having hot dogs, hamburgers, baked beans, corn on the cob and potato salad for the Fourth but even I every once in awhile like to “eat out of the box” and try something different. How about some kabobs this year for a change.

We all know about them but I don’t think a lot of us fix them that often. We really should. They are so simple and easy and you can have most of it all prepared the day before.

The recipe below you can BBQ on the grill but you don’t have to BBQ all kabobs. If you have a couple of pieces of meat like chicken, hot dogs or steak left from grilling make them into “cold kabobs” the next day. Layer your already cooked meat with fresh veggies or fruit. These would be great to wrap and take on a picnic in place of a sandwich.

Use chunks of melon, strawberries, pineapple (you can use canned), and if served right away apples or bananas. For veggies use small onions, green and red peppers, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, broccoli or cauliflower.  Also if you are serving immediately you could add cubes of cheese. The possibilities are endless.

For something fun and different have a kabob bar and let everyone make up their own.

Use 2 skewers holding about 1/2 an inch apart  to thread your items on because this will help to keep them from turning around on the skewers.

If BBQing then soak skewers for 30 mins. in water.

When cooking keep all the pieces of everything cut as close to the same size as you can.

Prepare as much as you can the day before to make your life easier the next day.

BBQ Chicken Kabobs

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 in. chunks

2 cups pineapple, chunks

1 green pepper, 1 1/2 in chunks

1 red pepper, 1 1/2 in chunks

Place all of these on the skewers.

Brush with equal parts BBQ sauce and concentrated orange juice that have been mixed.

Cook on medium high grill until chicken is done about 8-10 minutes. Brush occasionally with sauce.

Makes 4

Jill

He was up eating for 24 hours yesterday and I’m worn out! He was eating about every 2-3 hours for a couple of days and he is still breastfeeding but honestly I’m worn out! (So far today we’ve gone every 3 hours so keep your fingers crossed) Of course the 3 other kids have strep and ear infections and we’ve been to the doc 3 times in 5 days so that really hasn’t help matters!

We did have my friend Jeanette and Emily bring in a couple of meals, then a reader from MO called and ordered us Pizza last night. It was so funny because we have never ordered pizza and the kids thought that was the coolest thing to have it delivered! (Thanks Elaine!)
Then our realtor and loan officer said they would bring us over dinner. God knew exactly when we would need meals and this week is it!!

Mom is over helping with laundry so that is a big help. With both me and the baby soaking everything we are going through more clothes. I did switch from Huggies to Luvs diapers for him so hopefully that will help. I forgot how much I hate Huggies. They just leak horribly!

Mike is working extra hours at the tv stations this next month so he isn’t home as much. It looks like the baby will cost us around $4,000-$5,000 in our out of pocket costs so we are very thankful for the extra hours of work!

The WONDERFUL NEWS is that I’ve lost 30 pounds in 2 weeks! Yes, I know that 15 of it is baby and accessories but I need some incentive so I’m counting that. ☺ Only 5 lbs. left before I’m at the pre-baby weight.

I am still on the diabetic diet. My blood sugars are fine after eating but still around 95 for fasting. I’m not sure what that means but I go back to the diabetic doctor in 4 weeks so I will ask then.

My blood pressure is finally down. In the next few days I should be up and around again, if I can get him to stop eating. ☺

I still have yet to find “joy” in breastfeeding. As I was doing a little research and I found out that part of my problem is I think I have too much milk. I didn’t know that could be a problem since you always here about not enough.

I am going to try and see if I get myself to stop producing so much by trying to have him hold off longer between feedings and try to go 2-3 hours instead of every hour and only feeding on one side each every 2 hours instead of both. He has totally soaked diapers so he is eating enough.

I am trying to appreciate the fact that he is eating well but I am constantly soaked, my boobs hurt horribly from being so full, he chokes and gags every time he eats because it’s coming out so fast etc.

I do hate to start him on formula since he is eating so well and we had allergies with 2 others but I’m not sure I will be able to physically keep doing this. Maybe in a couple of days I will dry up some and it will get better.

That’s about all around here.

Tawra

BTW, a lot of people have mentioned pumping. I don’t have a pump right now. I might look on craigslist and see if there is one for cheap. It’s $60 a month to rent one and for that price I could just do formula. That might help some to get a bottle for dad or nan now and then and give me a break. I have to say though it is hard to sleep when you hurt so bad from them not eating so I’m not sure that would be much help or not.

I can’t believe the Fourth is already here. It feels like I just put up my Christmas decorations last week. Well for many of you you may have just put them up last week. HA!HA! Anyway I was thinking (I know that always gets me in trouble) for something fun this year you might try having an old fashion 4th. Instead of just spending the day sitting around BBQing and waiting for fire works why not have some things to do like gunny sack races, rope pulls, wheelbarrel races or just a good old fashion water balloon fight.

If you are some place where you can tie a gunny sack stuffed with straw in a tree for the kids (and adults) to swing on. Or if nothing more sit and have a watermelon seed spitting contest. I know we usually think of apple bobbing for Halloween but it would for the Fourth and would help keep everyone cool.

Have a few fun silly inexpensive little prizes to give away or even a simple blue ribbon.

Jill

I was “putting my face on” this morning and did some things that I thought you might find interesting. First I was putting on my foundation. Some of you like the thicker foundation for it’s good coverage but often have trouble getting it to rub on proper. The secret  to putting on any foundation and getting it to look even and smooth is to mix it with a little moisturizer.

I put a small dot (half the size of a pea) of moisturizer on my hand and then a dot of my foundation and mix them together. I do have a clean little jar that I sometimes will mix up foundation and moisturizer in so it is ready to use and don’t have to do it on my hand each day.

I rarely use sunscreen. Now before you have a heart attack I always use foundation that has a good SPF in it and a moisturizer that has a good one too. That way I can save on having to buy sunscreen for my face and save on the extra step of putting it on.

I do however use sunscreen for times when I will be going to something  where I will be outside all day long, something like camping, or 4th of July picnic.

For years I had the oiliest skin known to man. I finally discovered that if I used an oil control moisturizer under my oil control foundation it really helped control the oil. If I used the foundation alone it didn’t seem to work as well.

For those of you who don’t like anything as heavy you might try a mineral foundation.

I next put on my mascara. When you use your mascara don’t pump the brush up and down several times in the tube. First, all this does is pump air into the tube and causes it to dry out faster. Second think about what you are doing. How many of you do this pumping to try and get more mascara on the brush only to proceed to have to scrape it off on the edge of the tube because there is too much?

Just pushing the brush back in the tube when you are done and then drawing it back out gives you all that you need on the brush to use. Also you don’t need to spend extra to buy one of the new mascaras that has a bent brush in it. For years before they ever made such a thing I have been gently bending and adding a slight curve to my mascara brush. They are very easy to gently bend. It gives you a really nice curl to your lashes without having to use an eyelash curler (I hate using them anyway and really don’t have time too).

One other beauty tip that Tawra just discovered. Her 10 year old daughter was having the worst time with her hair being oily all of the time. Tawra then figured out that she was using a shampoo that was a shampoo and conditioner in one. By changing over to a shampoo for oily hair with no conditioners in it it has made all the difference in the world. No more oily hair.

One thing I did use when I was younger and had excessively oily hair was  lemon juice or vinegar to rinse my hair. It really does work well. Lemon juice is best for blonds because it also helps to bring out their highlights and vinegar for brunettes. Although you can use either no matter what your hair color.

Now if I could find something that truly works for dry skin I would be a happy camper. I have tried almost everything on the market and nothing really works. At one time I did use 1/4-1/2 cup of apple cider in my baths and that was probably the best of anything I tried. But I don’t take baths often any more so I can’t use it.

I had to stop taking baths for several different reasons. First they use 10 times more water then showers so I couldn’t afford it. Second after I got sick with my CFS hot baths made me weaker and would leave me drained. I remember the first time I tried a hot tub. After 5 mins I almost couldn’t get myself out and was to weak to move the rest of the day. What a bummer.

Well I hope this gave you all a couple of tips or ideas that you maybe can use in the never ending pursuit of getting more beautiful. :)

Jill

Well, today is mom’s 28th birthday, again!

Happy Birthday!!!!

The plastic shoe holders you hang on a door don’t need to be used for just shoes any more. I have mentioned using them for toys before but they are also great to use when hung on a closet door for things like undies, socks, belts and scarfs.

Hang them on the inside of a pantry door or in a pantry to store cans of cleaners, rags and dust cloths, whisk brooms, vacuum attachments, extention cords, rubber gloves.

In the garage they are great for small garden tools, car cleaning produces, bungy cords, small pieces of rope, and all sorts of odds and ends.

If you have a linen closet or closet in your bathroom you could use it to store extra toiletries . Don’t be afraid to cut them down to the size you need or to fit your own door if they are to long or something like that.

Jill

This salad is best if served the day you make it. You can how ever do the prep work ahead of time and then just toss things together. Have you corn cooked, cheese cubed etc.

I can’t emphasize enough how important prep work is for any meal. The more you can get done early in the day or the night before the better especially this time of year. It is much cooler to work in the kitchen in the morning then in the heat of the day.

Another plus is if you have part of the meal done then come dinner time you not only don’t have to stew over what to have but you will also be less tempted to go out to eat because you don’t want to waste what you have already got started. Besides like anything else the first step is the hardest and you have already taken that by doing your prep work in the morning.

Corn Salad

5 ears of corn, boiled 5 mins. only

2 medium tomatoes, diced

4 T. Cilantro, finely chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

4 caps white vinegar

Salt to taste

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, cut in small cubes

Cook corn, cool, cut off kernels. Mix rest. Add cheese at the last minute before serving.

Jill

Well, I took the baby in to the doc today for his circ. and 1 week check up. I went in for a manipulation at the same time because I thought my back and neck were out because I have been having searing headaches for the last 4 days. I wasn’t sure if it was that or lack of sleep causing the headaches.

Well, while i was there my blood pressure was up again. Along with swelling and the headaches I am back on bedrest. I am still close to having pre-eclampsia so they want me to take it easy for another week or two.

I have been up a lot and it did feel great to get a lot done but it will have to wait another couple of weeks.

It’s in the 100’s today so I don’t feel like doing much anyway except dreaming of my mountain home in Colorado that I used to have. (Why did we move back to Kansas?  oh yeah, it’s cheap housing.

Well, that’s all for now. I just thought I would update everyone. I guess my gardening and cleaning were bigger than my body could handle.

Tawra

In this day and age of fast food restaurants and convenience food we tend to think that most people when going through a hard time don’t need a meal or jar of soup brought too them. Granted many years ago before they had stores or fast food places on every corner or a microwave in every kitchen, a neighbor bringing in a meal sometimes meant a matter of physical survival and that may not be the case now a day.

Even so I hate to see bringing a meal or a plate of cookies to a new neighbor, someone who has just had a baby, is sick or has lost a love one, fall by the way side. We often think the family or person can just pick something up or fix something easy in the microwave. They probably can but there are a couple of reasons why it is still nice to bring someone a meal.

First usually at these times most people are exhausted both physically and emotionally. When this happens it is so hard to think and make decisions. Just ask anyone who has CFS. Trying to decide what to fix or buy for a meal really can be almost overwhelming. Kind of like the straw that breaks the camels back kind of thing.

Having someone say I’m bringing a meal for you tonight can help so much to ease a persons mind which is already probably in over load. It is just one less decision to make.

Second bringing food is a way of saying I love you, I care or a sign of friendship. Food is comforting to most people. (I’m not talking about people using food to comfort them and over eating so please don’t comment on that). Being a grandma the minute I know the grandkids are coming, out come the cookies and candy and when friends arrive the first thing I do is bring out a plate of cookies or put on the kettle. That plate of cookies taken to a new neighbor it says welcome we are glad to have you and to someone sick a meal says I care .

Hopefully we won’t let this custom die out. We won’t let another way of saying I care fall by the wayside. I will try at a later time to maybe give more how to’s and ideas on this same subject but for now here is a couple of suggestions.

Start looking now for inexpensive bowls, platters and dishes at garage sales that you can use to take food in to people and leave with them so they don’t have to worry about returning the dish.

When you can, try to use disposable pans and dishes so they don’t need to be washed but tossed. There is a time and place to save the environment and this is not it. I do save and wash most of the containers that I get when I buy things at the bakery etc. and reuse them for such a time. You would be surprised at how many containers you get every day that can have the labels removed and washed that would work great.

Make things as easy as possible. Send napkins, plastic forks and spoons. Always have things all prepared so there is little the receiver has to do but warm it or stir it.

Always bring extra. Send enough and then some. They can use the leftover meat for sandwiches for lunch for the next day and leftover veggies to go with it.

Keep the food simple. Now is not the time to pull out your French Cookbook. Things like turkey, celery and carrot sticks, fruit salad with fruits that will keep a day or so, desserts like a simple chocolate cake can be used for a couple of meals.

By keeping it simple you can be pretty sure the average person will like what you bring. Keep in mind who you are taking it too. If there are children in the family a pretty red Jello will be even more welcomed compared to a Hazelnut coffee mousse.

Don’t forget breakfast. One of the nicest meals we received was when the woman brought not only our dinner but she put in a pan of cinnamon rolls for breakfast and a container of frozen slushy mix to keep in the freezer and dip out when we wanted to make one some at a later time.

Think out of the box. Don’t always send just the usual casserole and what ever you do don’t just send a sack of groceries.

Be thoughtful. Give them a time that you will bring it and be sure you stick to that time. If you can’t it is better to bring it early then late. There is nothing worse than to tell the already hungry children the food will be here soon and then it is an hour late.

Depending on how well you know the person don’t out stay your welcome. Use sound judgment.

I have so much more but will have to leave it for another time.

Jill