After last weekend, this past week has been very quiet, as there was not much going on. That will probably change pretty quickly, as it usually does. There were a couple of shifts in the gift shop, there’s not much going on there either, as it was days without much traffic in that area of the hospital. I truly enjoy getting to work different shifts, as there are different duties and different people coming in and out.
Saturday evening, a friend invited me over to her home for a small dinner party, and it was a fun time. She decides on a main dish and decorates her dining room and her table to coincide with her main dish. This time, it was an Italian dinner, with spaghetti and meatballs; beautifully presented individual salads and garlic bread sticks. The company was great and the conversation pretty interesting, considering we were a very diverse group in both age and circumstances. She had candlesticks, with grape clusters on the table runner; Italian wine, cute tea-towel bibs for each place setting and had a napkin holder made from a cluster of grapes and ribbon. Her dishes were beautiful red glass that she told us had belonged to an aunt of hers. All in all, it was a great evening with great company and a gracious hostess. (And, we got to take our napkin holders and ‘bibs’ home with us for re-use!)
The following information has been in a file on my computer for a long time. I’ve used parts of it in the past in columns and decided it was time to use some of it again, since my mind was blank as to a topic this week.
A human brain has the capacity to store five times as much information as Wikipedia.
Our brain uses the same amount of power as a 10-watt light bulb!
Our body gives enough heat in 30 minutes to boil 1.5 liters of water!
The Ovum egg is the largest cell and the sperm is the smallest cell!
Stomach acid (concentrated Hydrochloric Acid – HCL) is strong enough to dissolve razor blades!
Take a 10-30 minute walk every day and while you walk, SMILE. It is the ultimate antidepressant.
Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
When you wake up in the morning, pray to ask God’s guidance for your purpose, today.
Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
There are so many kinds of apples, that if you ate a new one every day, it would take over 20 years to try them all.
Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, broccoli, and almonds.
Try to make at least three people smile each day.
Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Forgive them for everything.
Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
Make peace with your past, so it won’t spoil the present.
Now that school has started, let’s please, please remember that the speed limit in school zones is 20-MPH unless otherwise indicated. On Windy Knoll, the speed limit is 20-MPH from just past Park St. down to just past Fay St., and on Warhorse Dr., it is also 20-MPH from right after you get on it off of Hwy 173 until past the stadium. On Hwy 173, the speed limit is posted as 30-MPH with blinking lights.
If you are following behind or coming upon a school bus, it is very important to remember to come to a complete stop when the bus lights begin flashing and the stop sign comes on. You can be ticketed if you do not stop and the fine can be up to $1,000 with a loss of your driver’s license for a second violation. Our children are precious; let’s take care of them. (There was a post on face book in the springtime that showed the bus driver, on a two-lane road blocking both lanes of traffic by parking in the center, with the lights on and stop sign out, allowing the children to exit the bus, don’t know if this is legal or not, but he seemed to be having no problems, and it was safer for the children).
Parents, this is the time to watch out for children walking and riding their bikes to school, especially the elementary and intermediate students. (One of the busiest walkways for students in Devine is down Coker across Windy Knoll and then on down Mesquite to the school). They do not always watch where they are going or what they are doing, so as adults we need to be more careful and watch out for them. Children will either cut in front of you with a bicycle without looking or they will dash out from between parked cars. So, please remember to drive safely and take care of our students. If you injure a student, he/she will not be the only one injured, you will also injure yourself for a good long period of time and the child’s parents will also be injured. And, last but not least, in today’s litigious society, you could face a lawsuit whether it was your fault or that of the child.
Here are a few snacks or lunch box treats in case you’re packing lunch for your child. There was a long article in the Victoria Advocate with ideas for how to make lunch for your children and suggestions for allowing your child/children to help prepare the lunches. It also covered ideas for how many things you could make on the weekend, place the food in containers and just take them out of the fridge when it is lunch making time.
The following would make a tasty sandwich and one that is different than the usual pb&j…some students would enjoy this, others probably not so much!
Fruity Peanut Butter Spread
1 medium apple, quartered but not peeled
½ cup dried cherries or dried cranberries
1 cup peanut butter
¼ cup orange juice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
In a food processor, chop apple and cranberries. In a small bowl, combine peanut butter, orange juice and cinnamon. Stir apple/cranberry mixture into peanut butter mixture until combined. Cover and refrigerate. Makes: 12 servings of two tablespoons each.
The following two bar cookie recipes are both easy to make and can be cut into anywhere from 15 to 24 servings.
Quickie Bars
1 pound box light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups baking mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 can coconut (optional)
Beat eggs and sugar together, stir in vanilla and baking mix, add pecans and coconut. Pour into 9×12 pan and bake at 350ºF for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool thoroughly and cut into bars.
Candy Bar Cookies
1 box plain yellow cake mix
½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 stick melted butter
2 large eggs1 cup chopped candy bar pieces (such as Snickers, Butterfinger, Baby Ruth etc.)*
Place rack in center of oven and preheat the oven to 350ºF., set aside an ungreased 13×9-inch pan.
Place cake mix, brown sugar, melted butter and eggs in a large mixing bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Blend again on low speed for 1 minute. Fold in the candy bar pieces until well distributed. Pour the batter into the pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula so that it reaches all sides. Place the pan in the oven.
Bake the cake until it is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
Cut the cake into 24 bars. Remove the bars from the pan** with a metal spatula and serve. Store, covered in a plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 1 week or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil for up to 6 months. Thaw the bars overnight on the counter before serving.
**I made these this past week, and lined the pan with foil. When they were cool, I lifted them out of the pan and onto a cutting board and cut them into bars, which I then divided onto two plates for sharing with some of the staff at the hospital. Everyone told me how much it meant to them to receive treats in the middle of the week! *I used 8 of the “Fun size” Snickers® bars and it worked very well; I also topped it with about ½-cup of milk-chocolate, toffee bits for a little extra crunch, and it was delicious.