Ronald McDonald House

As I've written about it before, the Ronald McDonald House is one of Southwest Airlines biggest charities. Back in November, we held a Thanksgiving dinner for the residents. I just recently received the pictures below from one of my co-workers so I didn't get this posted at the time.

We had a record number of employees attend. Even though there were many residents staying there at the time, not many were at the dinner. They were either at the hospital or in their respective rooms. By the time the night was over, we had 14 employees there! In all the years I've been volunteering for these meals, I've never seen that many there! It was great!

Aside from having the main course catered, the employees brought all the other side dishes. There was a huge spread to choose from: Sweet potatoes, salad, rolls, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy, turkey, ham, baked macaroni and cheese, corn, many pies and brownies. I'm sure I forgot something!

The spread of food!!!

It's so fun to sit and talk with the people that are staying there. A huge map is posted on the dining room wall and the names of the families staying there are tacked to the respective state that they are from. It's amazing how far away they come from to receive treatment at one of our local hospitals.

Twice a year we visit the RMH. One time in the summer for a BBQ and again in the fall, usually in November for a dinner such as this one. But they take donations at ANY time of the year. It's strictly a non profit organization.

It really makes you realize how lucky you are to be healthy. The majority of the residents there are children. Many of them just babies. Many of them have oxygen bottles or IVs that they have to carry with them even though they aren't at the hospital.

Employees and residents alike enjoying the big meal.

A little blurry....but here I am with two other ramp employees and a resident at the end of the table.

Employees in attendance....prior to others that came after work.

I encourage you to read the web site I provided above on this remarkable charity. It's definitely worth the time. Any type of donation you can give is appreciated. They not only take monetary donations, but they also need items to support daily living. Food, paper articles, bedding, kitchen items, etc. It's all needed!

Have a great holiday and a blessed new year!

"The Letter"

Westside Church in Omaha is one of the nicest church's in the Omaha metro. It is large and has a huge worship area which includes a balcony to accommodate the many people that attend.

I've never been there for worship but I have been there for several other events. This one and this one. The stage is bigger than any I've ever seen in a church. The sound system is awesome and they even have large video camera on a boom that they can move around to get the best position for taping possible, depending on what's happening and where it's happening on the stage or in the audience.

Now I suppose you've already figured out where all this is going. Last night (December 11TH) I attended the church once again but this time it was to see the annual Christmas Pageant that has become so well known and popular throughout Omaha and the surrounding communities. I work with a lady that attends the church and she was able to get tickets to the pageant. I went with another girl from work, Lisa. This year it's called "The Letter." From what I've been told, the story is told each year but in a different way.

This year it was told like this:
The good old days....recollections and events of Christmas past that continue to shape Christmas today. Memories of a South Pacific Island in 1942, of a friend giving his all, a husband home safe and sound. Meet a multi-generational family living life together in the busyness and excitement
of a Christmas Eve day.....until a letter arrives from the past that changes everything for the future.

For this story, live animals are brought into the church. I'm not just talking about cows or horses. There were two huge camels that were escorted down one aisle and back up another. Following them was a man with pooper scooper supplies! But I'm not sure he had to work too much. There was also a donkey, a couple of lambs, and some bunnies. (not sure why the bunnies were included) It was like being in Jerusalem.

Part of the story had soldiers that were discussing being home for Christmas. They even had a few very loud fire works go off inside the church! It scared me and I can't imagine what the elderly went through after they went off!

Above the audience angels came floating down from the balcony to the stage and came down to earth. Later in the performance, and from another side of the stage, 3 other angels came floating above the crowd to hover over head and tell the story. The church has 2 zip lines and it looked very real to see the angels soring above. I wish I could have taken other photos during the performance. But it wasn't allowed. It was a very moving show.

The music was beautiful and the acting superb. Everyone involved in the entire production was a volunteer. The costumes and decorations were unbelievable. My writing about it does no justice to just how awesome it truly was.

There are two big screens in the church that show a closeup of what's happening during the performance. Before the show started, the screens were showing all the sponsors of the night.

The set was set up with very meticulous detail.

Here it is again in color.

The far left of the stage was where a family told the story. A Grandfather that had come home from the war in 1942, his great-grandkids with their TVs, lap top computer and a cell phone the Grandpa doesn't understand, and their Mom wishing her husband would make it home in time for Christmas from the service.

I can't wait for next year's program. People I work with have attended in the years past and have told me that it's a great show every time they go. From what I understand, once the current show is completed at Christmas, they begin writing and planning the program for the next year. It's a long process.

Seeing these types of performances definitely makes you remember why we live the great lives that we do. Christmas is the time to stop the daily routines and take time to focus on spiritual gratitude. I hope you have a blessed Christmas and a safe holiday in your travels.

December Blizzard 2009

What a week it's been here in the Midwest city of Omaha, NE. We have gone from 58* a couple of weeks ago to having wind chills of -15*! Not to mention the snow we received along with the cold air!

It started on Sunday. We got some snow that day but the heavy stuff wouldn't move into our area until mid-day or evening on Monday.

The results of our Sunday snowfall. Not bad and it made things look nice. These are in my front yard.

Still, the temps plummeted on Monday and the wind made it colder yet. Monday evening more snow began coming down and continued over night and into the next day. It got so bad and was coming down so fast by noon that events around town were soon getting cancelled. The prediction was for between 7 and 10 inches all total. We definitely got all of 10 inches if not a little more. I set my alarm for earlier than normal anticipating having to shovel a bit and maybe pick up a co-worker. Shovel I did! I opened the garage door and saw a drift that had blown in front of it that went over my knees. (I know....I'm not very tall! But it was a lot!) I moved enough snow that it wouldn't hold me up and then had to leave. The front door sidewalk was very full as well. Pretty but not fun when I need to leave for work!

Part of my driveway in front of the garage door.

I proceeded to back out my garage. It wasn't a challenge at all. But when I looked back at the driveway and saw how deep my tracks were, well. Let's just say that it's a good thing I have 4 wheel drive! The tracks were quite deep! I had to pick up a co-worker and she had to walk a few blocks from her house to a main road that had been plowed. The freeways were very well cleared and we had the road to our selves! No problem!

We knew that once we got to work we wouldn't have any flights to work as several had already been cancelled the night before. So we wouldn't have any flights until roughly 8 AM. But I had taken my camera to work anticipating seeing lots of snow which would make awesome pictures. Here are a few:

The snow drifted out from the terminal under one of our jet ways and encircled our baggage carts and tugs that were parked nearby.

More drifts (at work) that had built up over night.

Once we got through our day of wind driven blowing snow and frigid temperatures, we made our way home. But not until we stopped for Chinese food to eat that night. I was too worn out from all the shoveling and cold air to take time to cook. All I wanted to do was sit!
However I knew that I would need to shovel at home too. So I started out on one side of the driveway and my neighbor whom had been out using his snow blower came over and got rid of the large drift on the other side of the driveway. I came close to singing praises to him for helping me out! After using my ice chipper on some stubborn spots, I decided it would do and the sun would have to melt the rest. But I had to take some pictures. Check them out....

My driveway

The snow even covered my porch.....unbelievable. Notice that some of my lights are covered as well on the bottom of the rail.


The snow drifted over my light bulb stakes too. Some of them barely showed through all the snow!


The snow enveloped my house from both sides.




My sidewalk...almost a tunnel!



Notice the decorations from the 1st photo above, the lighted packages, are not showing! They are buried! You should see them in front of the porch.

It's been cold ever since the blizzard. School had been cancelled for 3 days and many people had problems getting to work. But I made it every day. Yea.

I also have a few videos that show just how hard the wind was blowing the snow around. This is the most snow we've had in December for quite some time.
Christmas will seem like Christmas for sure this year! And no shortage of the white stuff either!

My Favorite Things

This time of year is usually my favorite time. The transition between year round inside house decorations and the Christmas holiday decorations occurs. I get my storage boxes and tubs out from under the cob webs and shuffle through all the contents inside. You see, in order for me to remember exactly what's in each container I have to do that. But it's fun to remember each item and where it came from as I pull things out from their protective coverings. This year however, I've only put a few things out compared to last year. I won't be here on the actual holiday as I'm traveling to ND to be with my family.
Our weather here in Omaha has been nice and mild this past week. I had planned on hanging my outside lights during the weekend. However, I left work early on Saturday and ended up being sick with a 24 hour stomach flu. Don't ask me why I got it. But I did! So that took care of that nice day. I had no choice but to wait until yesterday. It was yet another beautiful day outside. My entire day was spent cleaning, rearranging the living room furniture and putting Christmas decorations out for display. Once I get in this mode, there's no stopping me. I find my favorite holiday music station on the TV, turn it up so that I can hear it all over the house, and set to work.
I continued with my inside tasks until I thought I better go outside and hang the lights before dusk. All my lights are stored in a big rubber maid tub in the garage so it was easy to just open it up and pull things out. I found my ladder, hung the lights from the gutters, set lighted presents on the ground, put over-sized lights on stakes into the ground and hung lights over my porch railing. Then I found my extension cords and connected them all together. There aren't many houses in my cul-de-sac that actually decorate the outside of their house. So it's nice to drive home at night and see mine and my neighbor's house across the street all lit up!
Then it was back into the house and continue with my cleaning. I moved down to the basement and put a few things up down there.
But it was soon time to think about cooking something to eat. Besides the fact that my body was beginning to cringe each time I moved another box or tried to vaccuum something else, I was getting hungry! I hadn't eaten much all day.
But I had accomplished what I had set out to do. And it was only the 30TH of November! I must tell you that I had also heard the forecast for the remainder of the week. It was going to get much colder and windy. So I knew I had to get the lights up when I did or it may not get done at all!
But I'm ready for Christmas. The scents of my holiday candles fill my house each night. I hope to do some baking next week and get some of my gift shopping done as well. We'll see how it goes!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday started out like a normal day for me. I went to work like any normal day. The only thing different was that I would be getting paid extra money because it was a holiday. I actually could have had the day off. It's hard to pass up the hours when I'm getting paid more to be there! But people still fly as much on the actual holidays as any other day. It's amazing how full our flights were!
I had been invited to go to my friend Tina's house for dinner (at four or five o'clock)in the afternoon. She had recently moved into her house with my help along with some of my other friends. So she decided this would be the time to break in her kitchen with ALOT of cooking! She also invited her cousin and his family along with her Mom. We each brought something to contribute to the meal. I made an apple pie from scratch. Tina and her Mom pretty much made the main meal. Turkey, potatoes, stuffing and sweet potatoes. I made the gravy for them as they never had done that before. They really liked it too! (sniff, sniff, ....so proud!) Her cousin had brought over two casseroles. Needless to say, we ate too much!
After cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, Tina sent some leftovers with me to take home. I had no problem with that!
The holiday itself happened to be right in the middle of my normal work week so I hadn't planned on going anywhere out of town. I figured that I might as well work that day too. In the past years, I have worked a double shift. But I can tell that I'm getting older. My body doesn't like the sound of a double shift let alone actually working it! And typically I work on Christmas as well. But this year I plan on being in ND! I can't wait! It's been many years since I have! Dad and Beverly haven't been there in the winter except for last year as they had been traveling south with many other snow birds. However it will work out for me to have days off for almost a week. So I'm heading north to the frozen tundra!
I hope your holiday was as filling as mine was. I spoke to family after I got home from Tina's house. It was fun to hear about their respective days and how they ate too much!
I definitely have much to be thankful for. I've been healthy this year and am gainfully employed. I have a nice house to live in and two cats to keep me company when I'm actually at home. I also have great friends to hang out with whenever we come up with a reason to get together. And I have a wonderful family that I may not see as often as I like but we speak on the phone and that works for me in between visits. Don't forget to count your blessings as I'm sure you all have many things to be thankful for as well. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 8000 Calorie Poem

May your stuffing be tasty,

May your turkey be plump.

May your potatoes and gravy, have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious,

May your pies take the prize.

Any may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off of your thighs!!!

This skinny little fella is either running from the "oven" or he's demonstrating how to exercise!!! Hee Hee!!

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving with family and friends around you. I will actually be working until 2PM and then joining some friends that invited me to their house. Stay safe in your travels and eat lots!!!

Thanks for Sharing!

This is the time of year when all the pumpkins are harvested from the fields and you see them in virtually every grocery store in town. But since Halloween is over the prices have dropped on them. A few weeks ago I bought a smaller sized pumpkin with the intention of using it for some baking.
Yesterday I cut it open and cleaned out the seeds and strings. Then I halved it and placed it face down on a cookie sheet and baked it in the oven for approximately 45 minutes. Once it was done, I let it cool for awhile and then proceeded to strip the pumpkin shell away from the orange colored "meat" inside. It smelled a great deal like a fresh squash had just been served as part of a meal! I put it into a freezer safe container and put it into the freezer for safe keeping.

**Short story in this story**---During my trip to ND back in July, I brought back with me, most of my Moms' old cookbooks, the recipe card boxes that she used to use and pages filled with recipes, that had been torn from various magazines that used to grace the mailbox back in the day. The recipe card boxes are my most vivid memory of watching my Mom in the kitchen when she set about digging out a favorite recipe for whatever the occasion she needed to bake some goodies. For instance; a church bake sale, a funeral, Ladies Aide, etc. Perhaps she was preparing a dessert for some one's birthday in which many family members would get together. Or it could have been simply to stock the freezer with sweets in the event company would drop by unannounced. There are recipes in those boxes from Grandma Moberg and Grandma Roloff, our many Aunts, some neighbors, ladies from our church, just to name a few!

So, I knew I would find a good recipe for Pumpkin Bars in one of the two boxes that I now have in my possession. The first one I opened and searched through was a strike out. No fear, box number two was very close at hand. The very first recipe in the section marked "Bars and Cookies" was for Pumpkin Bars! Sweet! It happened to be from my Grandma Roloff too. And on the back it included her own recipe for the Cream Cheese frosting that is so common on Pumpkin Bars. Even better! **OK....now back to the other story.**

---2 days later.....


Today after I got home from work, I was in the mode to do some baking. The weather outside was quite chilly and overcast. What better day for heating up the oven?
I got my Grandma's recipe out and went to work. My Mom had hand written her own little notation that the recipe made enough to split into two pans. So I made them but used half of everything. I still used a cookie sheet and it spread out enough that the bars were quite thin. But still enough to eat! I then proceeded to make another batch (I had quite a bit of pumpkin to use up!) and used exactly what the recipe called for. It raised up a lot and made the bars nice and thick!
After they cooled, I made the home made Cream Cheese frosting. I was able to frost both pans with the one batch of frosting. Yummy! So now that I've teased you with this story, I'm going to share my Grandma's recipe with you. You'll love it!

Pumpkin Bars by Mary Roloff (my Grandma)

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup oil/olive oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 15 oz. can of pumpkin ( I used real pumpkin...same amount)

Mix this together in a large mixing bowl. Then sift together the following:

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp each: ginger, cloves, nutmeg

Stir this together and add to the pumpkin mixture. Mix well and pour into a greased and floured pan. (I use a cookie sheet) Bake at *350 for 25-30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 8 oz bars of softened cream cheese
• 3/4 stick of butter
• 1 tbsp cream or milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• About 4 cups powdered sugar

First cream together the first four items until soft. Then add the powdered sugar a little at a time until it's the right consistency for spreading. Enjoy!

It's almost Thanksgiving and I'm thankful I had Grandmothers that were awesome cooks! They in turn passed that talent on to my own Mom! Thanks to all of them for giving me some too!

I am taking part in another open house this weekend. I and the other consultants were all asked to bring 2 dozen cookies/bars. I will bring the Pumpkin Bars. Hopefully I haven't eaten them all before Sunday!