Canadians or Caniacs?

McDonald's produced a series of ads in preparation for Canada's run at a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. They can all be checked out at the official site, but Carolina Hurricanes fans should specifically click on the commercial titled "Anticipation." See the swirly Hurricane logos on the shirts those fans are wearing...

Here's the link: www.mcdonalds.ca/olympics/en

Boredom Busters- For a Snow Day or Any Day!!

I recently received a six-page flyer from our MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) group entitled "Boredom Busters." It's a great little piece of work that includes places that have Kids Eat Free Nights, things to do in the Triangle with children, and free or nearly free things to do at home with the family. If we do end up having an all-plans-cancelled Saturday, here are a few things you may want to do to keep the kids busy:

*Design a craft box full of things that would have been destined for the trash (pom-poms, thread, yarn, etc.) Allow this to be the creativity box the kids can pick and choose to make their own creations.
*Bake cookies or a cake
*Braid hair
*Paint your face
*Play tag
*Start a club
*Play marbles
*Read a book (huddled under a blanket) with a flashlight
*Produce a talent show
*Search your house for items made in other countries and then learn about those countries through an online search
*Have your kids draw pictures, then you (adult) create a story that incorporates all the drawings


And last but not least.... Make a Valentine for the Hearts for Kids Project! (Don't forget all Valentines must be sent to His Radio by February 4th!)

Enjoy your possibly snowy weekend!!

Decadent Chocolates for 150 calories or less

Swap high calorie chocolate favorites for portion-controlled satisfying sweets. Your chocolate stays BUT your extra padding goes!

Check these out!

Chocolate Tootsie Pops
Chocolate licorice- 4 sticks
1 Fun size chocolate bar (Kit Kat, Milky Way, M&Ms, etc.)
Non-fat pudding
1 ounce dark chocolate
2 Dove dark chocolate miniatures
5 Hershey's Kisses

Adopt a Soldier- Fort Bragg

On a recent show I mentioned the Adopt a Soldier program through Fort Bragg and many of you have requested more information. It's my understanding the primary contact person for the program is Vicky Lee, from Community Relations. Her contact information is vicky.lee@us.army.mil or 910-396-5401. Below is a copy of a letter from Vicky Lee about the program:


Fort Bragg's "Adopt A Soldier" Program gives the civilian community an opportunity to show their support of deployed Soldiers on an individual and personal basis. The "adoption" involves sending letters and care packages for the duration of the Soldier's deployment (usually a year).

The Soldiers who sign up to participate in the program are from units based here at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Although the majority of the Soldiers participating are younger/lower enlisted; any Soldier interested in receiving support/recognition may participate in the program. We do not maintain any personal information on the Soldiers for this program (i.e. age, race, marital status, etc.).

Most people try to send a letter once a week and a care package once a month. It usually takes at least 7-10 days for a letter to reach them; and 10-14 days for packages. You must fill out a customs form for each care package listing the enclosed items, their weight and their cost.You can call the Expedited Package Supply Center at 1-800-610-8734 and ask for a priority mail "Military Kit." They will send you boxes, envelopes, tape, customs forms...everything you need! There should be"special" boxes in the kit with a red circle that have "Flat Rate Box"on them. You put as much as you possibly can into these boxes and regardless of the weight, the post office will send them for a flat rate of $8.10. Some of them can buy snack food and hygiene items at little stores the Army has set up...but others are in too remote of areas.

Thanks again for wanting to show your support of our heroes,

Vicky

Ministering to Others on Thanksgiving Day

Feel the desire to serve this Thanksgiving? Here are just a couple of places in our area that are looking for volunteers on Thanksgiving Day:


On Thanksgiving Day, the Northside Community Church (of Knightdale) prepares and cooks meals for over 500 area individuals and families. If you would like to help, the meals are prepared at the Family Circus Restaurant, which is located on Wake Forest Road in downtown Raleigh, from 8:00a.m. to 2:00p.m. (Contact them at 919-261-8929.)


The Durham Rescue Mission, located on Main St. in Durham, also provides opportunities for volunteers. On Thanksgiving Day, the Mission hosts their Annual Thanksgiving Community Dinner. In addition to serving a free Thanksgiving meal, the Mission gives away free groceries and clothing, including winter coats. Volunteers are needed for a number of activities, including site set-up, meal preparation and clean-up, and the distribution of clothing and groceries. Staff is also needed to operate game booths for the children that will be in attendance. Donations of food and clothing are also welcomed. (Contact them at 919-688-9641.)

Recipe Swap- Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes

The best recipes tend to be "a pinch of this and a dash of that." My personal favorite among the Thanksgiving recipes happens to be on a cherished water-stained yellow Post-it note of chicken scrawls I wrote while on the phone with my mom 13 years ago on my first married Thanksgiving. My mother's sweet potatoes (yams) are all the rage in our family and once my husband tried them, he made sure I called Mom on Thanksgiving to get the recipe. This year I'm in charge of sweet potatoes at the preschool Thanksgiving dinner and will bring them along to Andrew's Aunt Donna's gathering in Virginia Thanksgiving Day. What about you... what's that dish that you love to make and others can't seem to get enough of? Post your favorite Thanksgiving Side Dish so we can all have a tastier Thanksgiving!

Bette Ann's (Brittney's Mom) Famous Sweet Potatoes


*Melt in a saucepan a 1/2 Stick of Margarine
*Add 1/3 C. Orange Juice and 3/4 C. Brown Sugar

(Cook above ingredients until melted together and slight boil)

*In a small bowl combine 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Cornstarch and water until smooth. Add this mixture to the other ingredients in the saucepan to thicken sauce.

*Drain one large can of sweet potatoes (or yams) and put in casserole dish. Cover the sweet potatoes with sauce and cook at 350 degrees until bubbly (approximately 20 minutes.) Enjoy!!

Triangle Restaurants Open on Thanksgiving

One of the funniest and most heart-breaking scenes in holiday movies has to be in Tim Allen's Santa Clause (the original) when Dad burns the turkey, blasts it with the fire extinguisher, and ends up eating at Denny's... where they are all out of egg nog! Thanksgiving and Christmas meals are an intrinsic part of the celebration, so if you are looking to secure just the right resaurant (that does have egg nog, pumpkin pie, and all the other necessities) here is a blog I found that lists the restaurants in the Triangle that will be open on Thanksgiving Day.

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/food/restaurants-open-thanksgiving-day

Enjoy!