Moving Day

As much as I hate moving, I’m pretty sure my baby hates it more. My husband and I believe in attachment parenting, so she’s spent most of her life in some sort of sling or wrap. She likes it, we like it, and everyone is happy. However, we’re moving in less than a week, and when there’s an apartment to pack up, the rules change. When I’m moving heavy boxes and lifting things off of high shelves, I don’t feel safe having her in tow. For that reason, she’s been spending a lot of time entertaining herself. She’s very good … Continue reading

Primary Time: Helping Your Children Adjust to a New Ward

Moving can be difficult for everyone involved. It often means a new school, a new home, new friends and a new ward. It can be scary to go to a new ward, especially for children. Teenagers may also have a difficult time adjusting to a new ward. Often groups and friendships have already been established, and people may not be as willing to welcome new people to their groups. Here are five tips for helping your children to adjust to a new ward. First take them to Primary on the first week there. If you do not change what is … Continue reading

How to Make Your Own Milk Chocolate Masterpieces for Valentine’s Day

What did you ask your sweetie to get you this Valentine’s Day? Diamonds? A romantic dinner for two? A massage? Since requests aren’t always granted (depending on the particular sweetie involved), you might want to brace yourself for a bar (okay, a box) of chocolates and a pat on the back. If you are lucky, your honey will honor you with a slice of Emeril Lagasse’s Milk Chocolate Cheesecake. If you are really lucky, you won’t have to make it yourself. Either way, the recipe is provided below along with the directions for mouthwatering milk chocolate cookies sealed with a … Continue reading

Thanksgiving Recipes: Cranberry Desserts

If your Thanksgiving Day feast is side dish heavy and you decide to pass on the traditional cranberry sauce, but you still want to get a healthy dose of Vitamin C, then consider the following recipes. Both feature fresh cranberries in mouthwatering desserts. The tartness of the plump cranberries perfectly complements the sweetness of these Thanksgiving-themed treats. If you decide to forgo these cranberry desserts on Turkey Day, save the recipes and make them on Christmas instead. The bright crimson berries bring a festive touch to any holiday buffet table. CHILLED CRANBERRY DESSSERT Ingredients: 3 cups fresh cranberries 1 1/2 … Continue reading

Four Questions to Ask Your Moving Company

When it comes time to make a move to a new home, one of the scariest things to do is to find a moving company that you can trust. Everyone has horror stories to share about bad situations they have been in with the movers that they selected. I have heard tales of movers damaging or losing belongings, or worse, outright stealing or holding items hostage until an inflated fee is paid. This makes it hard to feel secure about hiring movers. Each year there are, in fact, thousands of complaints filed against disreputable moving companies. How can you protect … Continue reading

Turning Leftover Halloween Candy into Culinary Masterpieces

It was a Halloween for the history books at my parent’s house this year. For the first time since they became homeowners (decades ago), my mom and dad had less than a dozen trick-or-treaters come to their door. The topic dominated our telephone conversation last night. My mom was in utter shock. She couldn’t figure out why the kids were not out in full force this year, but even more disturbing to my mom, was the dilemma of being stuck with five huge bags of Halloween candy. We bounced around a few ideas, including making the following recipes. I have … Continue reading

Halloween Candy Cheesecakes

Whether you are looking for a sweet treat to serve up on Halloween or you are searching for a way to use up leftover Halloween candy (trick-or-treating starts today in my neck of the woods) you might consider checking out the following recipes. Both feature popular Halloween candy. The first recipe is one that is specifically designed for the stressed out cook, who is scrambling to find an easy no fuss dessert to bring to a Halloween party at the office, a neighbor’s house or school. You can make this Super Simple Snickers Cheesecake in less than 20 minutes (it … Continue reading

Becoming a Multi-Species Household

Hard to believe it’s been eighteen months since I moved cross country with the dogs! A lot has happened in the last year and a half, which I guess is what makes the time fly by so quickly. I’m at lease renewal time, and have been talking with some friends about possibly sharing an apartment (and cutting down cost of living for all involved). Great plan, right? There’s only one catch. My friends have cats. Lally has become quite the kitty hunter since we moved. She gets such a thrill out of flushing cats out of the bushes around the … Continue reading

Very Berry Cheesecake

The price of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries has gone up quite a bit at my local market. Last month the grocer had strawberries priced at $5 (for 2 pounds), but since my family went out to a local u-pick farm I saved a ton of cash by putting my preschooler to work in the fields (kidding). At the farm we paid just $1 a pound for fresh, plump, juicy berries and I still have a pint left in the freezer. This weekend I will be using the last of the berries in the following recipe. It is a standard cheesecake, … Continue reading

What Should You Do if Your Company Wants You to Move Overseas?

In this global economy, more of us are working for organizations that are international in scope. As trouble has hit the American economy, some of these companies are shutting down United States facilities and moving their workforce overseas. In addition, many multi-national organizations routinely offer the opportunity to move up the corporate ladder by switching offices. Therefore, whatever your nationality might be, you could be asked to move from your home to a completely new culture. What you do in this case is entirely personal. However, there are some advantages about working in a foreign land worth mentioning. 1. In … Continue reading