For Monday, August 1st, 2011

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

AUGUST 1ST, 2011

If you can't see the bright side of life, polish the dull side

It's MONDAY!

National Simplify your Life Week

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

Carl Sandburg

The first week in August is national Simplify Your Life Week – a mantra that sometimes proves difficult for Americans juggling multiple responsibilities at work, home and within their local community

It's an official, yet little known observance that encourages you to organize and de-clutter your life.

So why don’t we do things every week, or every day to help alleviate some of the stress in our lives? If we simplify our lives daily, then maybe we wouldn’t feel so stressed and we could enjoy life just a little more

Doing something as small as selecting an entire week’s worth of clothes for work or pre-planning a week’s worth of meals are simple to do and can greatly help people feel like they have one less thing to worry about each day,

Start each day with a to-do list. Having a clear focus of the top line items you would like to accomplish can greatly reduce the frustration people feel when they forget something that must be done before the end of the day

Delegate tasks. More often than not people are willing to help each other. A coworker can help you prepare for an important meeting or conference. At home, a family member can be empowered with chores that help you to regain time for relaxation.

Take a few minutes every day to slow down and start enjoying life! It’s easier than you might think.

August is Happiness Happens Month.

August is National Catfish Month.. It’s also

Get Ready for Kindergarten Month, National Back-to-School Month,

Family Meal Month, and National Panini Month.

August is Family Fun Month and National Toddler Month

August birthstone: sardonyx or peridot. August flower: poppy or gladiolus

NEW IN THE KITCHEN

RASPBERRY CREME PIE DAY

Ah, the sweet crust, rich custard filling, and whipped cream topping. Cream pies are a part of all popular potlucks, picnics, and parties. With raspberries currently hitting their stride in season, why not put aside the lemon or banana and make your next cream pie a raspberry cream pie?

AMISH RASPBERRY CREME PIE

2 baked 9-inch pie crusts

Raspberry Filling:

1 cup water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 box (3 ounce size) raspberry Jell-O
3 cups fresh raspberries

Vanilla Filling:

3 cups milk, scalded
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
1 cup milk

For Raspberry Filling: Heat the 1 cup water and sugar. Mix the cornstarch, salt, 1/4 cup water and lemon juice. Add to water-sugar mixture. Boil until mixture is clear. Add Jell-O and stir to dissolve. Add raspberries and let cool.

For Vanilla Filling: Place 3 cups milk in kettle. Heat to scalding.

Mix cornstarch, sugar, salt, vanilla, egg yolks and 1 cup milk. Slowly blend into hot milk, stirring constantly until thick. Cool.

Pour 2 cups Vanilla Filling into each pie shell. Place 2 cups Raspberry Filling on top of Vanilla Filling.

Serve topped with whipped cream.

PRAYER FOR OUR TROOPS

Please pray for God's protection of

our troops and HIS wisdom for their

commanders.

Lord, hold our troops in

your loving hands.

Protect them as they protect us.

Bless them and their families for the

selfless acts they perform for us

in our time of need. I ask this in the

name of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

AND bless our Police Officers, Firefighters

and Paramedics and EMT's

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

AROUND HOME

Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go.

Henry Austin Dobson

Time is such a precious commodity in our world. I recently read one of those studies estimating the amount of time the average American will spend doing various things over the course of a lifetime. The results are not encouraging. Consider:

Time spent opening junk mail: 8 months.
Time spent sitting at stoplights: 6 months.
Time spent searching for misplaced objects: 1 year.
Time spent trying to return phone calls: 2 years.
Time spent doing housework: 4 years.
Time spent standing in line: 5 years.

With time such a precious commodity, sometimes the greatest thing we can have is the willingness to give someone else our time. If I wasn't blessed with so many occasions to spend my time with others, life would become dull for sure.

COUNTING THE DAYS

Life is the sum of all your choices.

Albert Camus

52 DAYS UNTIL FALL

Keep looking ON THE BRIGHT SIDE of things.

A little smile, a word of cheer,
A bit of love from someone near…

Love,

ma