More Pictures

Making the Golden Years More Golden

Living a Quality of Life

We have the opportunity to have a healthy life if we know what to do and where to find the information to help us.  Below are some references to use for that goal.

POLST Form:    Washington State Health Department has a printable form or ask your doctor     (POLST Form is for what you want done if something happens.  If your heart stops do you want CPR,  put on life support, a feeding tube, etc.  This form lays the foundation for your care)

Disease prevention:    Some problems we call disease are preventable through lifestyle.  If you do not want something like diabetes, labs need to be performed to determine the cause.  Once you stop eating the food the disease resolves.    Recommend knowing what your nonfasting triglyceride level is to determine what foods have caused the sugar problem.   This is just one of the diseases that is preventable.

Nutrition Supplements are also another necessity for preventing disease.  Such supplements as Vitamin D prevent osteoporosis and possibly multiple sclerosis.  However, some supplements do not contain what they say and need to be researched.   We have access to this information on the internet.  It’s finding credible websites such as webmd,  consumer lab, and mayoclinic  for this information.

Another important source of information is knowing what your insurance covers to have your care paid for.   For example,  Medicare will pay for inpatient rehabilitation after having hip replacement if the guidelines are met.  Generally, daily physical therapy and nursing care prevent complications and have a higher success rate than self home care.

Another costly part of medical care is medication.  There are several  sources to reference to get reduced cost or free meds.   Some of the programs are through compounding pharmacy, needy meds- drug companies,  pharmacy programs, and Canadian pharmacy. 

Medical care is becoming more and more expensive.  Becoming an educated consumer can help us have an enjoyable, financially responsible retirement.

A House of Order

Three Steps to Help You DeClutter

The Closet System 

Easy Peezy Meals

Turn an ordinary dinner into an extrordinary evening with the family!

Designate one night a week or a month as 'Dinner Palooza'

Here are a few ideas (make them as healthy or unhealthy as you'd like)

1. Let your Asian flare shine!- Keep it simple with with stir fry for dinner. Sit around the coffee table on pillows OR stay at the table and eat straight out of chinese food boxes. You can pick up chop stix and fortune cookies at Panda for little or nothing. You can even make your own fortune cookies and stuff them with special notes to your kids.

2. Have a Picnic!- Forget about the traditional dinner at the table. Set out a blanket in the backyard. Make some sandwiches, juice boxes, fresh fruit, and chips. Don't forget to keep it simple with brownies or cookies for desert. Play a game of frisbee and call it an evening!

3. Lose the Structure!- Have a backwards dinner night. Start with dessert and work your way backwards. Make sure you separate your dinner into courses to get the full effect. Start with dessert, then have your main dish, move onto a salad, and then finish up with a yummy appetizer. Keep all of your portions small so everyone is still hungry by the end.

4. Hodge Podge- In the morning have all the kids write down one thing on paper that they want for dinner. Make sure they keep their item a secret. Have a hodge podge dinner of all the things written down. You might have licorice, corn dogs, and brownies, but hey they were fed weren't they!

5. Is it night time?- Forget about rules and have breakfast for dinner. There's nothing like some home made waffles with strawberries and whipped cream for dinner! Make sure you get into your jammies before dinner to create the perfect mood.

6. Finger Lickin' Good!- Have a finger feast. No utensils involved. You can start out with a relish tray (carrots, celery, ranch dip, pickles, etc. ) and move on to have hot dogs rolled up with crescent rolls, hot wings, breadsticks, etc. Don't forget to pick up some cream puffs for dessert!

7. Everything's better on a stick!-  Forget plates. Turn a paper cup upside down and present your dinner on sticks sticking out of the cup. Have corndogs, shish kabobs, fruit kabobs, etc. Everything is better on a stick. For dessert serve popsicles or caramel apples. Don't forget to finish your night up with a game of 'stick pull' or 'stick ball' (baseball).

8. Go Back in Time!- Remember the days of TV dinners? Turn on your favorite re-runs of 'I Love Lucy', 'Leave it to Beaver', or 'The Andy Griffith Show'. Eat dinner around the TV and reminisce with your kids about your favorite old shows (You know when they were clean!). You can get little trays at Walmart for next to nothing. Only pull them out on this special night. This wouldn't be complete without eating fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Don't forget a little apple pie for dessesrt.

9. Who wants a vacation? Put on your hula skirt and pretend you're in Hawaii! Hawaiian haystacks are yummy and a must for this night. Fresh pineapple and a tropical smoothie is the only way to finish off the meal. Make sure you eat outside and play some soothing ocean sounds in the background. If you have a pool complete your night with a swim or else have a little limbo contest. All you need is a broom for this one!

10. Color me hungry! Put all the colors of the rainbow in a hat and let your kids pick which color dinner is going to be. If it's red night have cherries, strawberries, tomatoes, red jello, red meat (steak), red cabbage, red potatoes, etc. You'll have fun shopping at the store for this one. Make sure you play Red Rover at the end of this night

 

Making the Most of a Family Menu

The concept of planning and preparing 3 meals a day, 21 meals a week, or 1,092 meals a year is pretty mind boggling when you stop to think about it.  Doing it all while trying to maintain your day-to-day duties can be very challenging.  This is where the art of menu planning comes into the picture. Did you know that by taking the time to plan before hand can save us up to 30% of our weekly grocery bills as well as 2-4 hours of our time every week? Try these simple steps and you WILL see results!!!

1)      Pick a day that you would like to do your grocery shopping. Most working ladies enjoy shopping on Saturday mornings, where others may enjoy shopping during the week. If that is your preference, most grocery stores get their new produce on Tuesday and/or Wednesday mornings, which will allow for the freshest fruits and vegetables.

2)      Pick some of your favorite recipes! Choose your favorite breakfast and lunches, and maybe 7 of your favorite dinner recipes (or less if you know you will have left overs).

3)      Organize them by coordinating the meals with the days you want to eat them. Keep in mind if a family member always has a specific activity on, let’s say, Wednesday nights, keep that day open for a left over night, or a quick and easy meal.

4)      Create a shopping list.  This is a good time to go through the fridge and pantry to see what you already have and what items you will need to purchase. Most recipes have some type of “staple” that you will most likely have, so make sure you have enough and add the rest to your list!

5)      Double check to make sure you didn’t miss any ingredients.

6)      Add any additional items to your shopping list that you know you need (snacks for school, toilet paper, etc.)

**The important money saving tip here is that you buy ONLY what is on your shopping list! Those random impulse items and trips for one or two items are what cost us that 30%! So make it simple and easy to follow! **

Once you have your shopping list you are ready to go!! Post your menu somewhere where you and your family will see it so everyone knows what is planned for dinner.

Although this will take more time initially, you will be shocked at how smooth your meals will go, and how much additional time you will have to spend with your family!  

Always check out current grocery store sales at: http://www.sistersavings.net

Easy Peasy Meals

Elma WA Stake

May 17, 2014

These are some websites I enjoyed looking at. 

Of course there are many out there.

http://organizedhome.com

 http://thefoodnanny.org/; http://organizeddinner.blogspot.com

·        The organized dinner uses The Food Nanny(BYUTV.ORG)’s template and ideas to create her menu’s and she shares them, along with recipes.

http://www.momswhothink.com

·        Moms Who Think has some good easy recipes and menu plans.

·        Remember that having a plan makes making dinner easy peasy.

Food Sample:

Sweet and Sour Chicken

6-8  pieces of chicken(breasts or thighs, with or without skin)

2 cans Contadina Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Season Chicken with Season Salt (I use Johnny’s)

Bake chicken @350 until almost done.  Drain off about ½ to 2/3 of juices.

Pour sauce over chicken.  Finish cooking until chicken is done and sauce is bubbly.

Serve with rice and steamed vegi’s.

Split Pea Sausage Soup

1 lb dried split peas              1 onion chopped       1 cup chopped celery

10 cups water                       2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 lb smoked sausage           1 1/2cup chopped carrot  

5 cubes chicken bouillon      1 tsp garlic powder     1 tsp dried oregano     2 bay leaves

Combine all ingredients in a 5 quart slow cooker and cook on high 4-5 hrs.  Remove bay leaves before serving.

Finding Fun in Your Family Tree

FINDING FUN IN YOUR FAMILY TREE—
Elma Stake Relief Society Conference
May 17, 2014

1.     With a map of the United States or World, show where your ancestors lived and how they migrated to where YOU are. 

2.     Look through old photographs and find people who look like you, your parents, maybe aunts and/or uncles. AND CHECK OUT THOSE CLOTHES, HAIR AND CARS!!

3.     Using old photographs—use a magnifying glass to look for hidden details such as license plate numbers on cars, flowers growing in the yard, etc. 

4. Display flags of the countries your ancestors came from.  Kids could draw or color them in.  Family crests also.

5. Placemats.  Label, decorate and laminate.  These could be gifts or children could make and keep them at grandma’s house to use when visiting.

6. Celebrate a deceased ancestor’s birthday. Display their photo, tell a story or two and add their name to the birthday cake. Especially if you share the same birthday!

7. Take kids to a cemetery and teach them how to clean a headstone.  If your relatives are buried close-by, make it a semi-annual project to keep the headstone and area clean and beautiful. You will develop special bonds with those ancestors.

8. Create a wall of pictures and heirlooms…..make sure you label with names and dates.

9. Write a skit or make a home video about events or stories from your family history.  

10. Have a NO-ELECTRICITY night to understand how our early ancestors lived.  Eat, clean up, play and prepare for bed using only candlelight.   Do it in the spring, summer, fall & winter to see the differences….should be HUGE!!

11. Scrapbooks / Pictures tell stories like no other!  

12. Find your ancestors Patriarchal Blessing.   Gives you an insight as to their character and how the Lord sees them.

Photos From Women's Conference

 

2014 Women's Conference

Our Elma Stake Women's Conference will be May 17, 2014.  The time will be 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. with registration between 9:15 and 9:45. The theme for our conference is "A Time and a Season".  Lunch will be provided.

Thank you so much for all of your effort to get our survey forms in!  We have all of our classes now figured out and are all listed here as well as on our Registration Form (see link).
You may choose ONE class from each block.

First Block
10:15 - 11:00
1. Forgiving Others - More Holiness Give Me
2. Sweet is the Work(out) - Finding Fun in Being Fit
3. Creating Crafts with Scraps
4. Plant a Seed Harvest a Miracle

Second Block
11:05 - 11:50
1. Finding Fun in Your Family Tree
2. Move more, Eat less, Laugh Lots (Exercise, Nutrition, Better Health)
3. Beautify Your Home - Interior Decorating
4. Dancing in the Rain - Attitude Determines Your Altitude

Third Block
11:55 - 12:40
1. Refill your bucket - spiritually
2. Make the Golden Years more Golden (Tips for Seniors)
3. Easy Peezy Meals
4. Herbalicious - Planting, Cooking and Using Herbs

Fourth Block
12:45 - 1:30
1. Lighten up! Finding Answers in the Scriptures
2. Got Real Food? - Whole Food Cooking and Nutrition
3. A House of Order
4. Use it up, Wear it out, Make it Do or Do Without

Young Women 14 and up as well as nonmember and less active friends are invited.  These forms can be submitted to the representative or a member of the Stake Relief Society Presidency.  You can also submit your information for one class choice for each session in the Contact Us form at right.

Just a reminder, the representatives from each unit are as follows.....

Gray's Harbor - Sister Terri  Leach

Elma I - Sister Nancy Kohn

Elma II - Sister Holly Lenard

Raymond - Sister Nina Stulce

Ocean Shores - Sister Kate Otto

Shelton I - Sister Diana Anderson

Shelton II - Sister Gretchen Rice

Shelton III - Sister Tabitha Ojeda

Westport - Sister Linda Bowers

Thank you again for your continued dedication and support!