Day After Thanksgiving

Today was my first day after Thanksgiving in retail. Usually I am out shopping. I didn't do it at all today! It actually felt good! I didn't end up buying things I shouldn't buy with money I don't have! At Ozzie's it was such a busy and crazy day. I have to say that it was quite fun also. I really enjoyed it. And, I can home to lights outside of my house and trees up inside! My boys are WONDERFUL! I was anticipating this, so I brought home donuts for breakfast tomorrow morning :0)

I made soup for everyone to have for lunch at work today. They all loved it and wanted the recipe, so I thought you all might enjoy it too!

Taco Soup
1 can cream of potato soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can chicken broth
1 can chicken
1 can Mexican corn
1 can tomatoes with chilies
1 package taco seasoning
1 pint sour cream
1 can black beans....rinsed

Good News!

Yesterday we took Ben for a follow-up at the doctor. He is doing great. She only gave limitations on his diet. That is not going to be easy for him, but at least he is better and things are "moving along"! Rich is doing much better with the tooth situation too. Looks like we will be healthy and happy for the holiday.

In trying to fix something yummy for Ben without chocolate involved, I made Rich's Great-Grandma's sugar cookies. They are so good. I thought I would post the recipe for those.

Last night I went to bunco. My friend had the best veggie dip. I thought everyone would like that easy recipe too. So, here it goes!

Great-Grandma's Sugar Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup oil
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
cream together
add
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups of flour

Mix and roll into balls the size of walnuts. Roll the balls in sugar and press on a greased cookie sheet with a glass dipped in sugar. Bake about 12 minuts at 350 degrees



Kim's Dip

1 cup Miracle Whip
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. dill
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 tsp. onion flakes
1 tsp. accent
1 tsp. garlic salt

Mix the night before serving and it has more flavor

I Am Not a Nurse!

What a week we have had! Last Thursday Ben stayed home from school because he had gotten sick and had terrible tummy pain. It subsided. He complained minimally on Friday and Saturday. Then, on Sunday, he had his friend Noelle over. While she was here he started complaining of stomach pain and wouldn't even play. Later in the evening, around 7:oo he said he wanted to go to bed. You normally have to force the kid to go to bed at night. After the complaining went on for a while I called our Fairy godmother, a former nurse. She suggested calling the doctor. I did, and he asked which hospital we were closest to and asked us to take him straight there. I had to call and get Rich out of a voter's meeting. We took him to the ER and they started running tests right away. They were worried about his appendix or kidney stones. Those tests came back fine. They decided to keep him overnight. He continued with the pain and was having trouble keeping food down. The surgeon came in on Monday morning and said the cat scan showed his colon was filled with stool. They started giving him all kinds of "goodies" to try and help "clear things up". They finally let us go on Tuesday afternoon. We are still trying to "work things out". Ben is feeling much better though.

Yesterday Rich had a root canal. He had some pain in his gums before he had it done, so it has been unpleasant for him.

I have spent several days worried about my boys. I am exhausted. I am not good at the nursing thing! I knew I never would be! I am better at being a teacher.

We would appreciate all your prayers that Ben will continue to improve. Pray for me to be a better "nurse" too!

He did it!!!!

Ben is a cub scout. He is in Webelos 2. In fact his den is close to getting their Arrow of Light and moving on to Boy Scouts. This is an exciting thing. Ben, however, had one thing standing in his way that might keep him from getting that Arrow of Light. He did not want to camp out. Rich had tried to take him on a few occasions. One ended in a tent full of puke. Not fun. This time Rich just told him he was going. It was nearby at a Lutheran camp. His close friend Cameron would be joining. He made it through the night! He loved it! He is excited to go again! This is a great thing! We were worried that he would be quitting scouting because he would not camp out. Yeah! I am proud of him and I am so happy that he was able to overcome this fear. I know he is proud of himself too!

(Sorry there are no pictures. Dad didn't take the camera out of the van! Boo Hoo! No pictures of the first night camping!)

Old Friends

While in Peoria for Rich's dad's 60th birthday, we were also able to attend Christ Lutheran Church, which is where Rich grew up. They were having a Thanksgiving celebration for their school's 50th anniversary. They invited all teachers and pastors that had ever served at Christ, along with the sons and daughters of the congregation that had gone into the ministry. One of Rich's good childhood friends, Rev. Kris Whitby, came also. It was so good to see him and his family! Rich and Kris laughed about their days at Christ Lutheran and Concordia University. It was so good to finally meet Kris's family. I wish we lived closer to each other! I know we would have some good times!

I am publishing Dr. Eifert's punch "with" recipe. Something tells me Kris and Rich may have had some of this together during their acting days at Concordia University!

Dr. Eifert's Punch "With"

6 oz. frozen ornage juice

6 oz. frozen lemonade

6 oz. real lemon

3 liters 7up

Southern Comfort to Taste

Happy 60th Birthday Dad!

This past weekend we went to visit Rich's family in Peoria, Illinois. We were celebrating his dad's 60th birthday! We all went to dinner at a place called Fairview Chicken Farm. They have wonderful fried chicken and yummy corn fritters. It was a nice night. Rich was able to see some of the cousins he hasn't seen for years.

In honor of Dad's birthday, I am posting my toffee recipe. My friends, the Riedel family, used to make this every year at the holidays. I always loved it. She gave me the recipe, but I was always unsure about making it. The Christmas before Rich and I were married, Rich's dad and sister came to visit and make Christmas Cookies. His dad helped me make the toffee the first time. When I wanted to pull it off of the heat he kept telling me just a bit longer. I trusted him and it turned out great! The trick to good toffee is a candy thermometer and clear weather! I have requests yearly for my English Toffee!

English Toffee

1/2 pound of butter

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons of cold water

2 Hershey bars

chopped pecans

Put butter, sugar, and cold water in a saucepan. Bring to full boil stirring constantly. Boil and stir until the temperature reaches 340 degrees and mixtures turns tan. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour onto a foil lined cookie sheet. Melt Hershey bars and spread on toffee. Sprinkle with pecans. Put in fridge to cool. Break into pieces. Best when stored in the fridge.

Animal Boy!

Ben has recently become very interested in comic books. I am sure it has nothing to do with the leading role he had where he portrayed a comic book artist/comic book hero! He has a comic book hero that he has been working on for several years now. His name is "Animal Boy"! He has the power to change into any animal to help in times of crisis. He has many fellow super heroes in his group called the Super League of America. For Halloween Ben decided he wanted to dress as Animal Boy. He came up with the costume on his own. We helped get things together of course, but he was VERY excited. I just love how creative our boy can be! He even had a friend who dressed as one of the heroins in the SLA, Wolfette!

In honor of my super hero, I am adding his favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I know this doesn't seem very original, but it is the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I have run across. It comes from my childhood friend Peter's great-aunt Gayle. Enjoy! By the way, it is important to mix the baking soda with the warm water!

Aunt Gayle's Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks of butter (softened)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking soda mixed with 1 teaspoon hot water

2 3/4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 of a bag of chocolate chips.

One of the secrets to this recipe is mixing everything by hand with a wooden spoon. Bake these at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes.