Ideas for Ladies Groups

Here are some ideas for groups that you could create. You don't have to think along the same old lines that have always been done, think outside the box and be creative, you may spark some interest and get a really active group where the sisters can bond and create lasting friendships.

Here are some suggestions--

#1-Adoption & Infertility Support Group-
We had a group like this in our ward because we had some sisters who were dealing with these issues, and generally these issues go hand in hand and many of the sisters involved in the infertility side may be looking into adoption. We had 2 "specialists" in our ward that ran this group, one was knowledgeable on infertility because she had battles with infertility for 6 long years and tried all sorts of medical intervention...3 failed rounds of clomid, 4 failed rounds of mini-injectibles, 5 failed artificial inseminations, and finally were successful with in vitro fertilization. After many years and many dollars...and many many prayers...they were successful! This sister is me. I felt like I have been on a long journey and wanted to share what I had learned because I felt like I had a PhD in infertility. And, to be honest, being LDS means you live among the land of the fertile and home of the preggos! We had another sister in our ward who has infertility issues as well but they went the adoption direction after trying a few infertility rounds. They were successful in their endeavor as well! So, since we were 2 sisters with similar issues and different paths, we offered up our world of knowledge on the subject and created this group. We only met every other month or every quarter, depending on the needs of those in the group, but I think it was a good way for people to share information in what can seem a daunting journey full of many little decisions that always are predecessors of the really BIG decisions.

#2-Healthy Living Group-
This group would get together on Saturday mornings (or whenever their schedules allowed) and they would do meal prep for the week. They would bring the veggies or fruits or whatever and cut it up and get it ready so that their meal time preparation during the week was much quicker and healthy easy meals would get to the table faster. They would also share healthy meal recipes and a fun sisterhood of chopping vegetables and eating healthy.

#3-Gardening-
A gardening group could be a shared or community garden. If you have someone in your area who has a patch of land that they would not mind you digging up, then you could start a group or community garden, where those who help with the upkeep, reap the reward of the shared crop. You can have a rotating schedule for watering and weeding with assigned days and share in the responsibilities and costs of the garden. What a fun way to learn how to garden for the beginning gardener and a great way for an expert to pass down their wealth of knowledge. Plus, the community spirit of helping each other grow your food can change lives and make lasting friendships.

#4-Recipe Exchange-
A recipe exchange group could meet once a month and exchange recipes, and at the exchange, bring a sample of what your recipe is that you are providing. The months would have different themes, like cookies, potatoes, Asian, casserole, cobbler or crumble, jello, chicken, green veggies, desserts made from veggies, appetizers, holiday fare, etc. Whatever the theme is, everyone brings a sample of their dish and copies of their recipe to share. It could just be an hour every month but a fun chance to share recipes and chat with friends over a yummy family favorite.

#5-Book Exchange-
Instead of a book Club, do a book exchange. This could be once a quarter or however often you like, but have people bring one of their favorite books as a gift for someone to leave the party with. This does not have to be expensive, you can always purchase books at half price books, but I think it would be a fun way to see what other people are reading and share the stories that you love with your friends. You could also have a blog for the book exchange members where they could post reviews and discuss the books.

Did I get your creative juices flowing?

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-Facebook and MySpace, Resumes, and Interviewing

I think it would be a really good HFPE or Sister's Night to do a class on My Space (MyS) and Facebook (fb). So many parents do not know what is going on with their kids on the computer and I think it would be good to show them the ropes. I am on both, but I prefer Fb over MyS. I haven't tried out Zenga or the others. It's a GREAT way to keep in touch with friends, especially those from high school and college whom you may not have seen for years.

Along with this night, another class option would be on interviewing and resume writing. As someone who does a lot of hiring for student workers and professional staff, I am always amazed by what people put on resumes, applications, and the things people say in interviews. And, its easy to get out of touch with these things if you haven't interviewed in years.

Here are a few tips on interviewing & writing a resume...
-Use correct grammar on your application...capitalize when you are supposed to...when I get apps with no caps I don't even look at them. If you are not important enough to capitalize your name, then you are not worth my time to hire. It shows a lack of confidence, so don't so it!

-On your resume--Don't put an objective or goal or mission statement...You don't know if what you say will be a turnoff to the person reviewing the apps. I get some with totally off statements and I don't pay attention to them because I think "well, if that is what they want, then my job isn't for them!". You cannot foresee what they are specifically looking for, so do not limit yourself in an objective or other statement!

-Always dress for the job you want even if it is not the job you are interviewing for...there is always a chance that you could blow their socks off and offer you a better job than the one you applied for...if you come in wearing jeans, then you might get a job that is a jeans level job and one you really do not want. If you come in professionally dressed, it shows confidence and it impresses people to think you are going places...and you are...or at least you want to be!

-Don't ever wear jeans to an interview---ever....and I mean NEVER!

-If you have a My Space or Facebook account, people may check it when you apply for a job, so watch what you put on there or make it private! ( I know lots of employers who check Fb and MyS, it really does happen and I know of people who have not been hired because of what they had on their Fb or MyS account.

-For interviewing, especially if you have not interviewed recently or ever....PRACTICE! You can look up on the Internet common questions people ask in interviews, have a family member ask you those questions and work on your answers so they sound fluid and make sense. people have told me I am a hard interviewer--I admit that I ask some harder questions but I really want to know how you will respond on your feet and to see how your thought processes go. Be on your toes and be prepared for hard questions...its okay to pause and think of an answer...I would rather have a pause and have someone think about the answer than get an "I don't know" or an answer that does not make sense or answer the question.

-Use a cover letter for explaining how your experience applies to the job, don't make your resume wordy. A cover letter should be relatively shirt. Start with To Whom It May Concern or similar, mention how you found the job and what position you are interested in, tell tham about your experience pertaining to the job and any specific skills that you have, then thank them and tell them to please contact you if they have any questions or would like to talk to you about a job, include your email and phone number(s) where they can reach you. End with "Sincerely", and your name.

-Use your own email address and make sure it is professional! If I get an app for someone and they do not have their own email, like they have their husbands email down as their email, it makes the person look subservant and lacking confidence...get your very own email! And, for job hunting, use your name or something similar like your name and a number or the year or something, don't use something like cutiepiegirl at email dot com...it doesn't portray a professional image.

Suggestions for Sister's Nights

Here are some suggestions for Sister's Nights, those smaller activities in between all the big 4 HFPE meetings:

-Play Group-meet once a week at a park or the church
-Knitting Group
-Scrapbooking Group
-Photography Class (we did this one for 3 months, meeting once a month with the basics of photography)
-Sewing Group-basics of sewing, we actually made a simple skirt that some sisters wore to church the next Sunday...they were super cute!
-General Craft group-we would set up tables for them and people would bring unfinished crafts to work on and chat.
-Sports Group- this group would meet in the gym and play volleyball or basketball.
-Fit Group-Meet and do yoga or some other form of fitness
-Walking Group-Meet at the mall in the mornings or in one of the neighborhoods at night and go walking twice a week.
-Make ahead meals-We would get together and do all the advance prep for freezer meals, everyone brought their own ingredients from a specific set of recipes and then we all put them together and got the prepped for the freezer so you just had to go home and put them in your freezer.
-Cooking Classes-From specific cuisines to breads to cooking techniques...this one is endless.
-Nativity Group-We had a group that was working on a crafty nativity set, we would meet and do another figure once a month, whether it be a shepherd or a sheep. We bought the supplies in bulk so the cost was minimal.