These little mail-able packets are fun to make and send for Halloween, Valentine's Day, birthdays, or . . . well, good heavens, you could put a few cough drops, package of kleenex, and a packet of chicken soup and have a get-well packet. Truly, anything goes. just sew them together and take them to the post office and they mail them as is -- promise.
Materials needed: heavy table-cloth plastic (available at fabric stores), small firm candies (such as skittles, smarties, tootsie-rolls, bubblegum, candy necklaces, jolly ranchers, etc.), little doo-dads like straws, pencils, erasers, decks of cards, balloons, socks, etc.
Directions: (This size is simply a suggestion. Make your packets big enough to hold the items you wish to send.)
1) Cut a 16 x 12 inch rectangle of heavy plastic and fold in half lengthwise so that the dimensions are 8 x 12 inches with the fold at the bottom.
2) Sew, using a zigzag or straight stitch, both 8 inch sides closed.
3) Measure in approximately 3 inches from side seam and stitch from bottom to top.
4) Repeat by measuring approximately 3 more inches from that seam and sew again from bottom to top—creating columns in the plastic rectangle.
5) Fill each column two inches full with candies. After all the columns are filled; sew a horizontal stitch across the columns, sealing the candy inside.
6) Repeat steps for the next row of columns; except add the name and address which you have written on a postcard, index card, or a piece of paper in one of the columns instead of candy. Sew closed, and layer candies again.
7) Sew columns closed and take to the post office and mail. They will mail it just like it is—honest!
I like this printable because I believe it. It's not an exhaustive list, but it is a very good start. I have especially seen what #9 can do, for every school day I teach about 100 students that practice it.
Long ago, I attended several how-to-successfully-teach seminars. We were taught that one of the components of creating a safe and successful classroom where effective learning could take place is teaching kids to give and receive sincere “appreciations” to each other. I knew the concept was true, after all Mark Twain said he could live two months on a good compliment, and I also knew the kids wouldn’t learn as well if they didn’t feel accepted. However, I wasn’t confident initiating it among satire-loving, sarcastic teenagers. I couldn’t visualize high school students spontaneously saying heartfelt things in front of their peers like, “I appreciate that Marshall took the time to hold the door open for me,” or “I appreciate the comment that Thayne made,” or “I appreciate how it makes me feel when Sarah remembers to say ‘hi’ outside of class.” But even though I doubted, I implemented the practice upon returning from the seminar and have ever been grateful I did.
In the beginning there was some awkward silence, followed by stilted attempts to verbalize something positive. Since I was the safest person in the class to give an appreciation to the students initially focused on me; however, within a short amount of time and lots of opportunities they were able to give appreciation statements to each other fluently.
Years later students frequently and randomly raise their hand and say, “I have an appreciation I’d like to give to ________” and then continue to tell someone in the class what they appreciate about him or thank him for something kindly done. The term “I have an appreciation” is almost as common as “I have a question” and I often hear it in their peer circles outside of class as well.
One morning a mother of one of the students had joined our class. Her look of mild shock and misty eyes reminded me that what I’ve come to hear as every day normal conversation she heard as something completely exceptional and unordinary. She heard her son’s peers voluntarily say things like:
“I appreciate what a solid kid you are. I can always count on you to live up to what you say.” “I appreciate your comments. I always learn better when you make comments in class.” “I appreciate your enthusiasm. It’s fun to be where you are. You’ve made this class fun.” “You’re unique. You are definitely one of a kind.”
Simply making appreciation statements not only made a safer classroom, it built character. I have watched young people bloom under the rains of appreciation. I remember clearly one young man telling me how he finally began believing in himself when he saw how much his friends believed in him. Another student told the class that he didn’t remember what was said but he still remembers how it made him feel when he received his first appreciation in class. As Charles M. Schwab said, “I have yet to find a man, whatever his situation in life, who did not do better work and put forth greater effort under a spirit of approval than he ever would do under a spirit of criticism.” (Richard Evans’ Quote Book [1971], 171). The schoolyard adage, “Sticks and stones shall break my bones, but names shall never hurt me” is heresy. “Sticks and stones shall break my bones but names may permanently maim me” is more accurate. Appreciations, like milk, build stronger kids.
Appreciations can be shown as well as said. Here are a few ideas:
1. A happy look or smile, a wink, tear-filled eyes, a hug, a well-placed sigh—all can spell a-p-p-r-e-c-i-a-t-i-o-n.
The District of Columbia police auctioned off about 100 unclaimed bicycles Friday. “One dollar,” said an eleven-year-old boy as the bidding opened on the first bike. The bidding, however, went much higher. “One dollar,” the boy repeated hopefully each time another bike came up.
The auctioneer, who [had] been auctioning stolen or lost bikes for 43 years, noticed that the boy’s hopes seemed to soar highest whenever a racer was put up.
There was one racer left. Then the bidding mounted to $8.00. “Sold to that boy over there for $9.00,” said the auctioneer. He took $8.00 from his own pocket and asked the boy for his dollar. The youngster turned it over—in pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters—took his bike and started to leave. But he went only a few feet. Carefully parking his new possession, he went back, gratefully threw his arms around the auctioneer’s neck and cried.
2. Doing an act of service or a favor can be a subtle way to let someone know they are appreciated.
Clearing the table or helping with the dishes can say, “Thank you for dinner.” Shining someone’s shoes or ironing a shirt can say, “Thanks for working so hard for the family.” Putting away the folded clothes can say, “Thanks for doing the laundry for me.” Bringing lunch back to the office for a co-worker that’s too busy to go can say, “Thanks for carrying your load and then some.”
3. Send an e-mail or write a note.
Last week I received two notes thanking me for something I had done. Those two little notes were timely and gave me courage.
4. A gift or treat
A candy bar tucked in a borrowed pair of shoes or a few pieces of gum inside a book when returned say, “I appreciate you sharing with me.”
When we appreciate and recognize the goodness in others, it's easier to see goodness all around us. Recognizing goodness allows us to trust the love of our Heavenly Father and keep perspective rather than getting overwhelmed and discouraged at all the evil that is also in the world.
Google says that today is the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express. What a coincidence.
1. This is Casey. More than once he has carried and hand-delivered goods to Idaho for me. He stopped by this afternoon to pick up a delivery of brownies and fruit leather for my niece:
Casey even somewhat fits the Pony Express Rider description:
2. Our postmistress makes me feel like I'm giving the entire postal fleet a gift by sending packages in fun original containers -- like these boxes. I found them on a post Valentine clearance. They have a little bag of cookies inside. I added a roll of fruit leather and a note then simply taped the box closed and put the address label on the backside and mailed them as is.
While some of the grandkids got their animal boxes in the mail last week, Cali said Levin and Atlas got their's today.
Happy Anniversary Pony Express. I hope mail never goes extinct.
Less Than <. More Than >. Did those symbols confuse you as much as they did me when they were first introduced to you? It took me several weeks to get the hang of them. I recognized =, but could not get the hang of < and > to save my soul. Is 5 + 17 < or > 28 – 5? Those equations took me forever to compute.
Most computations determining "less than" and "more than" are absolute; but to add to the confusion, there are some exceptions. Sometimes less than is more and more than is less. Calvin calls it the “Law of Diminishing Returns.” He first explained it to me the summer I got the Strawberry Pretzel Salad recipe. I was just getting good at making it, and didn’t have to look at the recipe anymore, when he said, “This salad was really good the first twenty times you made it, but I’m kind of tired of it now. It’s called the ‘Law of Diminishing Returns’ . . . the more you eat, the less it satisfies.” It didn’t matter that I still had so many plans and variations for that recipe. It has been thirty years since I got that recipe, and now when I make it (once a year at best) Calvin still says, "Please tell me you only made enough for one day.”
I've discovered the “Law of Diminishing Returns” applies in every facet of life, not just the kitchen. Living in a producing and affluent society makes attaining “more” easier. Often times “less” wisdom is practiced when we have more. I saw it as a young parent: The more monetary things we gave our children the less parent and child interaction we had — more lessons, more activities, more clothing, more treats, more video/computer programs equaled less parent and child interaction, less parental supervision, and less parental teaching and influence. H. David Burton pegged it when he said, “The struggle to set limits, make do with less, and avoid the pitfalls of ‘more, more, more’ has never been more difficult. It is hard to say no to more when you can afford to say yes.” (Ensign, Nov. 2004, 98) Qualities such as sharing, working hard, making do, inventing, and building patience are not developed when a constant menu of “more” is served.
I see it in my life today: get a little more done, fill all the empty spaces = ponder on important things little less.
Then again, sometimes more is better. More virtues = better lives. Who can argue that an increase of patience, integrity, kindness, gratitude, service, humility, courage, and faith also increases our happiness? Albert Einstein said, “Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” Taking us right back to where we started. Sometimes less is more and sometimes more is less. Life and math are confusing sometimes.
But, there is one thing that is the greatest -- more than -- anything else. Jesus taught exactly what that was just a few days before He was crucified. He said the Greatest Commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. He said nothing is greater. Everything else is less than.
He then said that the second greatest commandment was to love our neighbors as ourselves. He said there was no greater commandment than these. (Mark 12:30-31)
Seeing more than and less than through the Savior's eyes makes everything clearer. Heaven help me to remember it and live that unchanging truth.
(And just in case you have never tasted The Law of Diminishing Returns Strawberry Pretzel Salad here is the recipe. It's a great Easter salad because of the fresh strawberries.
1 large package strawberry Jell-O 1 ½ cups boiling water 1 lb fresh strawberries, sliced
1 8 oz. container of whipped topping 1 8 oz. package of creamed cheese 1 cup sugar Mix 3 Tbsp sugar, melted butter, and pretzels. Press into 9” x 13” pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Cool. Mix Jell-O and boiling water until Jell-O is dissolved. Refrigerate until partially set and then add strawberries. While Jell-O is setting, whip creamed cheese and 1 cup of sugar until well blended. Fold in cool whip. Spread on cooled pretzel crust (spreading the mixture to the edges and sealing it so the jello won't seep down into the pretzels) and then top with partially set Jell-O. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. Substitutions: raspberry Jell-O with raspberries cranberry Jell-O with whole cranberry sauce blackberry Jell-0 with blackberries)
I made these Valentine cookies for our Young Women. The Pinterest creator was right -- they're quick and easy and relatively inexpensive ($2.00 for the cookies + .50 cents for the white chocolate + a few leftover sprinkles = .06 cents per cookie).
I put three cookies in a cellophane bag with a little bit of paper crinkle in the bottom and tied them with baker's twine. Total cost per Valentine was less than .20 cents.
If you've ever raised raspberries you know what a bother it is to keep them from becoming an overgrown, tangled mess on the ground.
This idea for controlling raspberries was on Pinterest, and though it was three times the project Calvin expected it to be, he did it. And very well.
We depend heavily on raspberries for jam, fruit leather, pies, cake, smoothies, and sometimes even muffins. These supports will make picking so much nicer and our yields heavier.
And speaking of baking and nicer and yields, here is an appropriate printable from Pinterest
This past Saturday, Cali and I had to run a fruit salad to town at 8:00 am for a wedding. Since the boys were still home asleep and the highway was empty except for 5 cop cars which insured we took our time, the car was quiet and we visited about a myriad of topics: fruit salad, weddings, Easter baskets, what to have for Sunday dinner, the virtues of Costco produce vs. the unpleasantries of Walmart produce . . . and the future.
We determined that looking forward is important, but dwelling on the future is counter-productive. There are so many unknowns to prepare for in likely situations, let alone all the unlikely situations that are bound to happen that it can put your mind in a spin. We decided we should prepare for the future the best we can, and that includes increasing our faith, but then to fully live today. It wasn't a new discovery, but it was our Saturday morning resolution.
I was looking through my Pinterest boards this evening and saw this one by Corrie ten Boom. As a holocaust prisoner she faced such a bleak future (and even facing a good future can be daunting), and gave us a good example of how to live with the unknown. This pin is a good reminder for me of the conclusion we reached on Saturday. Here's to the future Cali (clink).
Gordon and Sandy built our home and lived in it for twenty years before we bought it. Even though they only live 10 miles away, once we bought the place they never came back. It was too hard for them to see twenty years of footprints stomped out by a new herd.
Last year one of their sons drove his wife out to see where he grew up. He showed her his hand prints in the cement by the garage and other places he remembered as a boy.
After 15 years, Monday evening Gordon and Sandy finally drove by, looking at the house and property from a distance. We were outside working and saw the car go slowly by, sometimes backing up for a closer look. Not recognizing the car, Calvin (as good a watchdog as Dan) finally walked out to the car and flagged it down. Lo and behold it was Gordon and Sandy. We talked for an hour and expressed our thanks for making such a great place for our family to live. Calvin invited them to come back and get raspberry starts.
Today Gordon and Sandy came to get the plants and a big piece of petrified wood that Sandy had regretted leaving. I made this Pinterest Applesauce Cookies recipe to share with them.
I like trying old recipes from newspapers:
I like to envision the woman who submitted it in her apron cooking in a simple kitchen with staple ingredients. I like to imagine her sharing the recipe with her neighbors at a community social. I like to imagine her creaky linoleum floor, with a few worn spots, and an itty-bitty refrigerator with metal ice-cube trays in the tiny freezer compartment.
I like to imagine the woman who clips the recipe from the newspaper, too. How she sees the recipe then goes to her kitchen drawer that has scissors and string in it. She carefully cuts the recipe out (and how her husband probably scolds her that night because there's a hole in his newspaper) and puts it in her recipe box.
All this I get from a newspaper recipe.
This recipe isn't anything special, but it is good like the picture says. I do think it has too much clove in it (when a recipe calls for as much clove as it does cinnamon, beware). I doubled the recipe and and baked them as a cookie bar then frosted them with cream cheese frosting. It was a good enough recipe to share, so I sent a plate home with Gordon and Sandy.
I have no idea if this idea is on pinterest, but if it's not it should be! We had a great time, it took minimal planning, the girls interacted and helped each other, and they learned.
We went to Wal-Mart for a Young Women's activity. Our purpose? Practicing how to dress modestly.
Your assignment: Put together an outfit that is appropriate for a day at the sand dunes/lake. $32
Your assignment: Put together an outfit that is appropriate for a trip to the temple. $43
Your assignment: Put together an outfit that is appropriate for school. $37
Your assignment: Put together an outfit that is appropriate for a formal dance. $105
Your assignment: Put together an outfit that is appropriate for senior pictures. $41
Your assignment: Put together an outfit that is appropriate for sleeping. $26
They had 25 minutes to put their outfits together. Lucky for us, Wal-Mart had a big clearance sale which left a 6' section with nothing on it . . . and shirts for a dollar. The girls shopped and then displayed their outfits on that 6' section for each other to see. Each girl talked about her outfit and told us how much it cost. Then they voted on which outfit they were most likely to wear.
A&K choosing pajamas
R&D looking for swimming suits and getting sidetracked with the sales
D&H looking for formal wear and school clothes
Karen's outfit (appropriate for the temple: a white gauzy skirt, soft-gray, striped shirt with a white cardigan, and a butterfly necklace) won the prize. She could choose between a pair of socks or fingernail polish for her prize - she chose yellow fingernail polish.
After the girls finished putting all the clothes, shoes, and bling back on the racks where they found them, we met in the breezeway and ate Reese's peanut butter eggs while each girl taught the group what she had learned. The main thing they came to understand is that modesty is a way of life.
It was a fun, repeatable activity.
(While the girls were shopping, I saw one of my friends from Moldova. She works in the men’s department. She has very, very, very little English. I talked to her for a few minutes, and then my friend Laura [from the Spanish Branch] joined us. Laura works in the underwear department and she also speaks very, very, very little English. There we were in a triangle of languages trying to talk to each other. There was a whole lot of “say that again” and “one more time” and smiling and nodding going on. It was the best. None of us let a little thing like language get in the way of being friends.)
One said, "An apple. I'm a bit chubby, but I'm really pretty good inside."
Another said, "A pear. I'm sweet and tender, but I'm thin-skinned and my feelings get hurt easily. I guess you could say I bruise quick."
Still another said, "A strawberry. Sometimes I'm sweet . . . and sometimes I'm not."
Next I passed around a basket filled with a variety of fruits. Each girl picked her favorite and began to eat it.
By the time they got this graphic from Pinterest that was printed on a piece of cardstock,
they could better appreciate that wishing they looked like someone else was just as silly as wishing away all the fruit in the world but apples. They better knew (and appreciated). . . they had such sweet bodies.
(Dear Readers, When blogging first began, I used to return a comment on every comment you left. After a couple of years and writing pages and pages of returned comments, I discovered most of you were no-reply commenters. Which meant all of the return-comments I wrote went into the internet black hole and you never saw them. I felt like Amelia Bediliaand quit return-commenting. It's bothered me ever since that when you comment it appears you are ignored. No more. I will return-comment in the post's comment section. Thank you for being such faithful readers. Your neighbor,
I told you once that I've been looking for a shower cleaning solution ever since they took Shower Power off the market.
I found a concoction on Pinterest that holds promise.
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup Dawn dishwashing soap
2 Tbsp baking soda (it gives that little bit of grit you need to scrub soap scum)
I've used this recipe three times now and have been pleased with it each time. However, it doesn't combat mildew so I still have to spray diluted Clorox on mildew susceptible areas. I still like this homemade recipe better than any commercial cleaner tried since Shower Power.
I like to pin things on my "Make Room" pinterest board from Timeless Interiors. (You should see the bread rack!) Timeless Interiors is a furniture store with modern and well-crafted furniture. I've admired many pieces from there on the internet as well as in Joe and Ande's, and Abe and Grace's homes.
RecentlyTimeless Interiors hosted a give-away. They encouraged patrons to submit a charity of their choice for the chance to win an office make-over. I enjoyed reading about each charity and what they offer to the local community.
Here is Zeph carefully choosing the grand-prize winner while his grandmother, Holly Dixon, and Joe watch.
(We often had pile-ups. They're just part of life.)
I've seen masking tape roads several places on Pinterest, so the last time Levin was here he helped me build some all over the living room floor. Occasionally we'd add a new road. The first day he played with the roads about an hour as long as I was playing with him, the second day not at all, and the third day for several hours, many of those by himself.
The road in the picture is up the side, over the top, and down the other side of the ottoman. After we laid the road, I used it first. As my little truck was going up the side, I was calling out (in true Little Engine That Could fashion). "It's hard! It's hard! I don't think I can do it! Help! I don't think I can do it!" Levin leaned over and yelled even louder, "YOU CAN DO IT! C'mon little truck. YOU CAN DO IT!"
I puffed and grunted up the ottoman and when I reached the top Levin yelled, "YOU DID IT! YOU DID IT TRUCK!"
It was the sweetest.
Later, I went to get in the shower and when I came back out into the living room he was talking to his trucks as they struggled to climb the ottoman.
It was pretty darn sweet.
I'm definitely remembering this pin. I'm going to keep a roll of masking tape in the ice cream bucket of cars from now on. I'm also going to make up a few truck buckets as birthday gifts, too.
A few years ago I asked Jeeves when I needed to know something.
Then I started to ask Google.
But now I ask Pinterest.
For example. I had a candle that came in a cute mason jar that I wanted to save, so I asked pinterest, "How do you get the wax out of a candle jar?" She said to put boiling water in the jar after the candle was gone then let it set for a little bit. She said it would melt the wax and come right out. She reminded me to not pour the hot water/melted wax down the sink, but to dump it outside. She said the inside of the jar would wipe clean with a paper towel.
She was right. Pinterest is as good as asking a neighbor.
Then, Cali gave me a low-bench bookshelf that she didn't want. I walked all over the house trying to figure out where to put it. I tried it on the ground. I tried it on a table top. I tried it on a wall. It just didn't look right anywhere. I put it in the garage until a solution could be found. What I should have done was ask Pinterest how to display low-bench bookshelves, because two days later Ande sent me one of her ideas.
She said it would work perfectly for children's books if I displayed some big, appropriate things on top of it. She was so right. It does work perfectly and looks good. Pinterest is as good as asking a neighbor.
This was a cute and easy Pinterest project. I filled little orange gift sacks with caramel corn and attached the two tags with baker's twine. Quick, fun to give, and inexpensive.
I saw a sign on Pinterest several months ago that hung in a child's bathroom. The saying on it got stuck in my head and I still mutter it to myself every now and then when I wash my hands.
I made little gift tags with the saying to attach as neighbor Christmas gifts. One with "wash" for soap/towel and another with "wipe" for anti-bacterial wipes.
Feel free to copy them.
Chocolate on My Cranium ran a guest post of mine a couple of days ago. She also pinned it. So that makes two pins I used this week.
Surprise. Surprise. Surprise. I walked outside to snow this morning. I came home from work and quickly pinned a couple of crock-pot soup recipes from Pinterest for future snowy mornings.
But my favorite find of the week was this Mormon Message. Elder Holland has a way of seeing the not-so-obvious and making it obvious. (Kind of like the Fed Ex logo. Once you see the arrow between the e and x it's all you can see.)
Elder Holland has helped me to see things more clearly many times and I appreciate him greatly for it. This time he helped me to better understand that just because an answer to prayer isn't obvious or as I expected, doesn't mean it wasn't answered clearly.
We've become a people of sound bytes. It's an interesting communication phenomena.
I recently printed out several (at least 40) different illustrated sound bytes from the LDS October General Conferenceand used them in class. I found them all on Pinterest (which sent me all over the internet including to the Chocolate on My Cranium and Inkhappi blogs).
Each student received one card with a quote. If it was meaningful to them they recorded it in their journals along with an explanation of why it was important to them or how it could help them. They passed the cards and started the process all over again. This continued several turns and the kids enthusiastically participated.
Kids love sound bytes. They quote movies. They quote songs. They quote TV shows. They quote each other. Now they can quote General Authorities.
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