Recycle Christmas Cards

Now that the new year is here, we'll all be taking down our Christmas decorations. When taking down your cards, don't throw them away - send them to:

St. Jude's Ranch

Recycled Card Program

100 St. Jude's Street

Boulder City, NV 89005

St. Jude's Ranch is a non-profit organization that provides a safe, nurturing home and therapeutic residential treatment for abused, abandoned and neglected children.

At St. Jude's Ranch, the children remove the fronts of old Christmas cards and place new backs on them. They sell the cards to raise funds for the ranch. Cards are accepted until February 28, 2010

Resolution time - make it last

This is the time of year when we all start thinking about our New Year's resolution. This year make one that will really stick.

The first thing to think about is what you really want to change. Don't make it too broad. Choose something specific but attainable.

Instead of saying "I'll lose weight," choose "I'll walk 30 more minutes per week." Or maybe "I'll only eat dessert on weekends."

Instead of saying, "I'll save more money," decide to cut back on one coffee at the coffee shop and save that money. Have a special place to put the money and actually put in the $3 it would have cost you to buy the coffee.

If you want to keep in touch with friends or family, choose to make one call or write one letter or email per week.

Whatever your resolution is, take it in small steps and chances are you won't be kicking yourself by February 1.

One of my resolution is to post one blog each week. You can help me by making comments or sharing stories.

Happy New Year!

Green Christmas Shopping

To make your holiday a little more green, there are easy ways to make a difference when shopping.

Buy gifts made in the U.S.A. This is easier than it seems. Some of our favorite companies include Turner Toys, Green Toys, Fractiles and Slinky. Surprisingly, there are still many toys made in the U.S. You can also find clothing made in the U.S.A. Try American Apparel.com for basics like T-shirts, The Cat's Pajamas for pjs, Michael Stars for clothing, or go on a website like Nordstrom.com and type in USA in the search.

Make sure toys are PVC free. PVC is dangerous for your child's health and for the environment. When possible, opt for wooden toys without toxic paints or stains.

When buying bath or body products, be diligent. There are so many fantastic bath and body items made here and many of them are also organic. Try California Baby (not just for babies) and John Masters Organics (they even have a dog shampoo called "Dogpoo").

It's still early. Take some time and you'll make a positive impact on the environment while making a lasting impact on your loved ones.

Raising healthy children

We all want to raise healthy children. The question is, where do we start?

1. Fuel your child. A body uses food as fuel. Not all fuels are equal. Fill your child's day with healthy meals and snacks to keep their bodies running at its best. Try to cut out sugar where you can, and get plenty of fruits and vegetables in their system. Whole grains also give long lasting energy. Check product labels. Go back to basics. A good way to get healthy snacks in your kids is to have them always handy. At the beginning of each week, cut up fruits and vegetables and put them in a container in the refrigerator. Make this the "free" container. When your child needs a snack, let them pick something from the container.

2. Get moving with them. When you take your kids to the park, play with them. Your children want to play with you. They want to know that you want to play with them. It will help get you healthier and help your kids' self esteem.

3. Don’t overschedule their day. We go from school to soccer to karate. You know how it goes. Remember kids need routine, but they also need down time. They need time to be creative and time to relax. Even when their day is filled with fun things to do, it's stressful to be scheduled from morning to night. Don’t do this to your kids. Children need a break too. Make sure there is some down time during the day to just relax. Also, let them be in control of parts of the day. Let them decide sometimes what to wear, where to go, what to eat. It will help them become more creative, independent thinkers. You may also need to teach them how to relax. Let them have some quiet time each day to read, take a nap, or just be alone with their thoughts.

4. Don't be afraid to be silly. Children are naturally silly and love to see you giggle with them.

Try some silly activities they're sure to love. Act like animals. Choose an animal and act out their personalities. Have tickle time, dancing time, running time. Throw out your inhibitions and laugh! Once you get started, you may find it hard to stop.

5. Limit media time. Kids have so many media options now. There's TV, computer, Wi, cell phones, text messaging and more. Make meal times media free. Have meals as a family as often as possible. Also, turn off all media 30 minutes before bed. As great as all this media is, it can be extremely stressful also.

6. Above all, make sure they know you love them. Tell them every day why they are special.

Recipe of the week

We will start posting a seasonal recipe of the week. Hopefully you will be able to sit down and enjoy it with your family. This will help you use some seasonal things that you can buy locally.

Enjoy!

This week's recipe : Cauliflower Bake

Bechamel sauce

1 1/2 C milk

3 T butter

2 1/2 T flour

sea salt

nutmeg

Cauliflower mixture

1 head cauliflower

2 eggs

3 T butter

1 C grated parmesan

1/2 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/4 C breadcrumbs

For sauce: Combine milk, butter and flour in saucepan; bring to a boil, then simmer and cook, stirring constanly until sauce is very thick (about 15 mins). Season to taste with salt and nutmeg. Remove from heat.

For casserole:

Steam cauliflower until tender, let cool. When cauliflower is cool, remove all excess moisture. Finely chop cauliflower or blend. Beat eggs in a large bowl, add sauce and mix. Stir in cauliflower.

Spray olive oil spray on the inside of a 2 quart baking dish, pour in bread crumbs to coat the dish. Put cauliflower mixture into dish and bake for 40-45 minutes. Let cool to unmold.