Survivor Enrichment Night

Howdy Friends....

Life has been busy and I have been booted....literally! I have pulled my Achilles heel so I am in one of those boot casts temporarily so I am hobbling around here and there. I should only have to wear it about 2 weeks but it sure does get in the way!

Anyway, we had an Enrichment Night this week that was really fun and hopefully educational. We were big meanies and did not tell them what was happening, we called it a "Mystery Night".

We did a mock hurricane drill and taught people about first aid, building a shelter, surviving without electricity and water, and food storage. Everyone I heard from thought it was really educational!

Hurricane season has started for us, so we chose that as our disaster, but I am sure you could modify yours to whatever might happen in your area. Here is a link to the source we used. We did not have the sisters bring their 72 hour kits, since ours was a surprise!

http://www.sugardoodle.net/Home_Family_and_Personal_Enrichment/SurvivorEN.shtml

Last year, with Hurricane Ike, we had people in our region who were without electricity and water for more than 2 weeks, so we are trying to help people prepare for the worst with the Hurricane Season underway this season already.

HFPE Idea-Eating Healthy, Produce buying and storage, smoothies Plus a recipe for Roasted Broccoli

We just had an HFPE on making smoothies and bread sticks. I have been so inspired by the smoothie class that I have had a smoothie every day since and plan on continuing that forever! Its a burst of healthy goodness that makes you feel good and tastes great!

One of the things I have been doing lately is buying a lot of fresh produce. However, it is hard to know how to store all this stuff! Some things need refrigeration and some do not. I think this could easily be put into an HFPE night about healthy eating. I think you could do 3 classes and have one on storing and buying fresh produce (including which things are best bought frozen), one on cooking with fresh produce (like how to roast pr steam vegetables), and one on making smoothies. I also think it would be good to have a class on budget grocery store buying or how to use coupons effectively because, let's face it, its more expensive to eat healthier....but its worth it!

Here is a great listing of where to store things, how long to store things, and if you can freeze them. I found this very helpful as I started purchasing all this good healthy stuff and my fridge is busting at the seams! http://www.pastrywiz.com/storage/produce.htm

And Martha Stewart recommends the following when it comes to storage:
The fresh taste and nutritional value of summer produce will last longer with these storage tips.

In the Bag
Most refrigerated vegetables do best in a perforated resealable plastic bag (make 6 to 8 holes in a 1-gallon bag). The bag holds in moisture; the holes help release compounds that produce spoilage while letting in oxygen so the vegetables can "breathe." If vegetables were sprayed with water at the market, lining the plastic bag with paper towels will help absorb excess moisture. Wait until just before using to wash vegetables.

Room Temperature
Keep avocados, eggplants, and tomatoes at room temperature. Once fully ripe, use within a day or two.
Avocados
Eggplants
Tomatoes

In the Crisper
This is the coldest and moistest section of the refrigerator and the best place to store the produce below. Place in a perforated resealable plastic bag.
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Celery
Corn (with husk)
Green beans
Radishes
Scallions

On the Top Shelf of the Refrigerator
The vegetables listed below keep best in the warmest part of the refrigerator -- the top shelves near the front. Place them in a perforated resealable plastic bag.
Cucumbers
Peppers
Summer squashes


For the how to cook with produce class, I would do my roasted broccoli recipe...I swear its the best way to eat broccoli! The same method can be done for sweet potatoes, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, or onions.

Roasted Broccoli

Ingredients:

Broccoli (its shrinks down, so get more than you think you will need)

1-3 Tablespoons of Olive Oil (Olive oil is best but vegetable oil works fine too) Just enough to make it appear shiny but not heavily coated.

Salt and Pepper

Directions:

Take Broccoli and cut it in to small florets. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil (you don't have to line the pan with foil, I just do it to save on clean up) and spread broccoli out on cookie sheet. Lightly pour or spray olive oil over the broccoli and toss to coat the pieces so they are shiny. Spread out on pan in one layer and salt and pepper to taste. Put in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until the ends look brown and toasty, then turn over add salt and pepper to taste, and roast for 5-10 minutes more. This has become one of our favorite vegetables and we eat it like its popcorn! You can also do the same technique with sweet potatoes, tomato slices, onions, carrots, green peppers , cauliflower, and potatoes.

I like to make this when I am already going to be cooking something else in the oven, like roasting chicken breasts. I will just take chicken and toss in olive oil, add salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash and roast for about 40 minutes until done. When there is about 30 minutes left, I just add the broccoli on a cookie sheet on the other shelf in the oven so that everything is done about the same time.

HFPE: Purse Themed Night

I have been asked to post about one of our Ladies Enrichment Nights that we had probably 2 years ago. We had a purse themed night and it was so cute and fun! If you want to see how other people did this same theme, just google "purse enrichment relief society" and you will get oodles of sites where other wards have done the same thing.

Its a way cute idea. We started out by giving everyone an invitation that looked like a little purse. We told them they were purse-onaly" invited. I will attach a copy of the pattern. (see below) Its a little rough because I just drew it up here at my desk. We used different colors of card stock for the purse and then printed out on the computer the invitation information and glued it inside, you could also use some fancy designer patterned paper too. For the purse "clasp" we used a little fabric flower or button and for the purse strap we used a little pearl ribbon or regular ribbon. I will have to try to make one of these this weekend so I can post a real picture, but this will at least give you an idea on the pattern. You can fit 3 on one 8.5X11 sheet. You can make them larger if you think they are too small. The ladies in our ward thought these were so pretty...it really intrigued them to come and we had a great turnout. I always believe that you should make the invitations to an event look very nice....if the invitation looks like it was rushed and corner were cut, then people may believe that the activity will be that way and may not come.

(click to enlarge)

Anyway, we had a dinner, something very girlie like soup, salad, and quiche, I think, with rolls. After dinner, we had our program. We had asked some women in advance to take 3-5 minutes each and talk about a different purse they have carried in their life. They were asked to bring the actual purse or bag as a visual aid. These are the purses we asked people to talk about: a fancy after 5 purse, a scripture bag, a temple bag, a diaper bag, a Sunday bag (like for a calling), a backpack (for students), and a regular purse. We wanted variety, so we asked women who were in all these different stages, like a young mother for the diaper bag and a Temple worker for the Temple bag or a young bride. It was so fun and entertaining. These women did such a great job and they pulled things out of their purse and talked about them and how they help them get through life.

I started out with a fancy purse because I thought some of the just out of high school sisters could relate it to a purse they took to prom. My particular fancy purse was from prom and it had been my great aunt's. It is a beautiful small pearl beaded type purse and I talked about how I think of my great aunt when I use it and I love that it is so fancy and special. Then I turned it over to the next purse lady.

One lady was so funny because she talked about things you need to have in your purse...like purse-everance, purse-suasion, and our favorite...purse-scriptions!

I believe the Relief Society President was the final speaker who talked about all the purses we carry in our life and tied it all together.

The centerpieces were different kinds of purses from all eras and styles.

It was such a lovely and fun night. We laughed a lot.

We also played a game. Our game required everyone to pull out their purse (We put on the invitation for everyone to bring their purse). I would call out a certain item and the first person who was able to pull out that item and hold it over their head won a point for the table. You will need helpers to see who is first because this can get competitive and these ladies were fast! The winning table all got some sort of little prize. I think we had gotten some purses from the dollar store and put something in them.

Here are some of the items that we called out for the game:

A piece of gum

a brush

a fruit or vegetable (you would be surprised what some people carry!)

scissors

paperclip

a quarter

a head cover for when it rains

a driver's license

keys

lipstick

medicine

an old church program

a receipt from a store

scriptures (of any sort)

a book

a cell phone

a toy

a diaper

a package of Kleenex

a grocery card (like a Kroger card)

a relief society newsletter

You would be surprised how funny this game is....it was so funny to see what people carried around and who carried what.

If you have any specific questions, please ask. I am sure I am forgetting some of the details. I will think about it and see what else I can jog out of my memory.

HFPE Idea- Saving pennies!

My sister's ward just had an HFPE that covered 2 topics: saving pennies and "your favorites". The first part they had someone offer suggestions on ways to save money and find freebies. Below are some of the suggestions (thanks to Lindsey, Tonya, and Cori!) I think you could also go further if you needed more classes or time to fill by adding a class on budget cooking ideas.

Ideas on saving big with just a little effort

• Go to freebie web-sites, Tonya suggested checking out the freebie groups on yahoo (Heart of Texas Free-cycle)
• MyPoints.com -If you know a member of My points, be sure to get a referal from them so they get extra points! But you can join either way. *Printable coupons*
• Craig’s List is a local classified adds, look for the “free section”
• Go to the specific web-sites of the companies who make your favorite product On-line surveys often reward you with free items or coupons
• Coke bottle caps can be redeemed to give you spending money at the Coke store
• Cash in your rebates (Office Max & Office Depot often have these available)
• Sign-up for Newsletters and Birthday Clubs (Sonic, Dairy Queen, Chuck E. Cheese) AFullCup.com is “a freebie Mecca”
• Target.com (look for Super Target.com at the bottom for coupons)
• Mr. Ink Jet is good for printer ink savings
• TotallyFreeStuff.com
• Wal-Mart free samples (go to WalMart.com main stores now offer free sampler)
• Hobby Lobby.com gives a weekly coupon & for Michael’s on-line as well
  

Thanks for these great tips!

Then they also had the sisters bring something or somethings that were their "favorite things", like show and tell. I think this was similar to Oprah's favorite things...except less screaming and not free stuff for all. This was a way for sisters to share things they love with other sisters and you learned something about the sister as well.

Here is a sample of some of the things that were shared by some sisters. (I think this is a really fun thing, I have to think about what I would have brought!)

People's "Favorite Things"
-Pampered Chef mini-whip, Johnson & Johnson’s Soothing Naturals Baby Wash/Lotion
-National Geographic Magazine, Tabernacle CD, “Love is Spoken Here”
-One sister loves information, so she shared some research on heart attacks and second degree smoke
-Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight book series
-SA8 Pre-wash for spots on laundry (only available on-line), Color care Shielding Shine Mist by Biolage, Zero Frizz for hair
-Sketcher shoes ordered from endless.com where you can ship it back for free if they don’t fit.
-Facing the Giant (movie), Harry Potter book series
-Stampin’ Up!’s table top cutter (ka-chunk), Special K’s Chocolaty Cereal, 101 Meals to Cook in a Slow cooker, amazon.com for books, & usps.com for mailing stuff from home
-Feminine Screwdriver with changeable head

I have to agree with many of these items listed...the Stampin Up Paper Cutter is also one of my favorites, I just found Special K Chocolaty Cereal and am such a fan....and the Feminine screwdriver is something I have and love. I have a matching tape measure to go with it. It is my personal "tool set" and I keep it where I can always find it....plus its way to girlie for my hubbie to want to use it! Here is a picture of mine...

This is the hammer with all the components inside.
And this is the hammer once you unscrew the handle and take out the 3 different screwdrivers with different heads and sizes. This was given to me by my boss for Christmas a few years ago and I LOVE IT! It is a great gift for the girl who has everything!

Let's see....my favorite "things" would be chocolate cake, Estee Lauder Foundation ( I have a really hard time finding foundation that matches my PALE skin color and Estee Lauder is the ONLY one that works for me...believe me, I have tried TONS of products because I was in search of a cheaper brand...but I give up and will only wear Estee from now on...its true to me so I will be true to it! It was a bummer one day when I realized my real skin color was "translucent!")

Another favorite, I love Stampin Up Products for Scrapbooking and Card Making because everything matches...the paper matches the ribbon color, matches the buttons, etc. I really hate it when I buy lovely ribbon and paper and the reds do not match so now I just buy SU products because I can trust them and the quality is superb. You can view their catalog online http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/stampwithlinz/ and Lindsey is a great demonstrator and I am not biased at all!

I also love whole wheat pastry flour. I have been trying to substitute whole wheat for white wheat in a lot of my recipes and I have found that the ww pastry flour makes a good substitute on many things!

So, post a comment on your favorite things! I would love to hear some!

Make every day beautiful!

Heather

HFPE:The Ties That Bind

When we do an HFPE, we usually came up with a theme or title and then would use that throughout our "advertising" for the event. As an example, we did one called "The Ties that Bind" and this is what we discussed:

1) Staying close to family even when they are far away--We talked about family newsletters, family blogs, doing family history. We talked about rotating newsletters among family members and keeping in touch. We gave ideas for ways to blog with your family, you can ask questions for people to answer along with just updating people on your day to day activities. For instance, my family has a blog and we keep up with everything going on in all the families lives by blogging. We tell of our day to day dilemmas and victories but we also ask questions of each other. We might ask "describe your home when you were growing up?". It was fun to see how everyone described it and what the differences where. We have also talked about our favorite restaurants, foods, memories of certain places, etc. This is our way of doing some personal family history while keeping in touch with family.

2) Family traditions-We talked about different family traditions people in the ward and our families have. We talked about passing traditions down and starting new ones. I believe we even had the sisters fill out forms with info on their family traditions and we sent that out to people who wanted to start some of their own family traditions. One of my family's traditions is to get together every summer, usually around the 4th of July, and have a remote control car race. This is usually geared more toward the males in the family but anyone is invited to participate. Its big fun and the cars usually leave the final race with wheels missing and various other things broken as they all go for broke and bragging rights. The, we set the date for next year and a few days before they race again, they are all in their garages trying to put back together their cars from the previous year that were destroyed during the race. The family members who are not "driving" the cars are the pit crews and we run around like banshees turning over the upside down cars and un-sticking the ones that are stuck in the mud or trying to run up a tree. Its a fun time for all!

3) Being a good Friend--We talk about ways to be a good friend and watch out for the sisters in the ward. We all need friends, and sometimes it is hard to get to know people in the few short minutes between Sunday School and Relief Society.

For our 4 HFPE nights a year, we generally try to have a dinner and start at 6:30pm and then have the activity after wards. In this case, we asked sisters to present the three topics listed about and everyone stayed in the gym where we ate and listened and then once it was over we chatted and had dessert. The dinner doesn't have to be anything fancy, we joked that we should do Thai food and make it "The Thai's that Bind" but we didn't, although we may have done Chinese food that night, now that I think about it!

Whenever we do a dinner, we try to make it something different, not just the typical lasagna and bread sticks or whatever. We have done 1) Asian Salad, Orange Chicken or Sweet and Sour chicken and fried rice. 2) Pizza and salads 3)Soups and Salads or Soups and breads....just to name a few. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just needs to be good! We have also done things to make ordinary dishes fancy, for instance instead of serving fruit salad, we served fruit kebabs or made a fruit kebab arrangements on the table. It looks lovely and inviting and isn't just a hum drum old salad.