Have you ever been on a trip and found yourself in a scary situation? When I was growing up, my family went on vacation and was traveling at night when it started raining really hard. Before we knew it , our car stalled in the water on the highway. Another car passed us and we could see that it drove out of the water a little further on. Finally, our car started and we drove out of the water. The car that had passed us was waiting for us. A man got out of the car and came up to our car to see if we were OK, only it turned out he wanted to rob us. Our dog, who had been sleeping, could sense the man’s tone of voice changed when he said he wanted our money. Our dog jumped up and scared the man who took off running. I don’t know what we would have done if our dog hadn’t been there. In situations like that, it helps to have self defense products. You never know what might happen.

My mother passed away in 2000. But I can remember while I was growing up and while she was still able to cook, she would fix this salad at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Mix the following for a refreshing salad:

• 1 cup pineapple chunks (if you use canned, be sure and drain)
• 1 cup mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 cup miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup sour cream (if you don’t like sour cream, you can use Cool Whip)
• 1/3 cup coconut (if you don’t like coconut, leave it out)
  

At Christmas time, it looks pretty to add some maraschino cherries on top.

I didn’t feel good at all on the day I wrote this post. My husband’s been sick, and I’ve been fighting off his sick germs. I felt like I wanted some really good homemade soup, but I didn’t have the energy to make it all from scratch. So I used four cans of soup plus some chopped onion, herbs, and frozen veggies, and the soup turned out so good. I made enough for us to have soup the next day, but we ate most of it right after I made it. I felt a lot better after I ate two bowls of the soup. I hope I can remember exactly how I made it. I’ll try to remember, so here goes:

• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 cans reduced sodium chunky chicken noodle soup (this is what I had on hand and actually used: Campbell’s Chunky Healthy Request Chicken Noodle Soup & Progresso 50% Less Sodium Chicken Noodle Soup)
• 1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
• 1 onion chopped (1 to 1 1/2 cups of chopped onion)
• 4 teaspoons of dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
  
• fresh ground pepper (1/4 teaspoon or so)
  
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 8 ounces of frozen peas and carrots

First, I put the broth in the pan. Then I chopped the onion and added it to the broth along with the parsley, rosemary, and pepper. I let that simmer for 10-15 minutes with the lid on, and then I added the 3 cans of soup, olive oil, and peas & carrots. I stirred well and let it simmer until we were ready to eat which was probably around 45 minutes, then served it with crackers.

(I’m posting this recipe so I’ll remember how I made this soup and can make it again sometime. lol)

I got this recipe from my daughter, Christi, and it’s really good!  It uses stuffing mix which makes it flavorful.

• 2 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened
• 2 of the 3-ounce packages of cream cheese with chives
• 1 1/2 cup cubed, cooked chicken (or canned chicken, drained)
• 1 of the 8-count packages of crescent rolls, separated
• 3/4 cup melted margarine or butter
• 1 cup seasoned stuffing mix (or seasoned bread crumbs)

Cream the softened butter and cream cheese together. Add the chicken, mixing well. Spoon 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto each roll. Wrap dough to enclose filling, sealing well. Dip each roll into melted butter. Coat with stuffing mix. Place on baking sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

We know several people that have huge plasma TVs. We still have the old kind, a 32 inch that we’re perfectly happy with. But I guess some day we will have to get a new TV if and when we can’t get reception on the old kind. I was looking at Import Advantage’s site, and they have a plasma tv lift that is really neat. The huge TV screen is concealed in a nice looking console cabinet when the TV is not in use, and then with the touch of a button, the TV raises up out of the cabinet and is high enough for easy viewing when the TV is being used. I like the idea of the TV only being seen when it’s being used.

Someone left a comment about Sale Grab, and I would like to thank you, whoever you are. This is an awesome site with huge discounts (usually 88-91% off) on clothes and some shoes. It tells you the name of the store where the item is located, you type in your zip code, and it tells you the store locations that are closest to you. How cool is that!

Eve has some great gift ideas for families. One thing that she mentions is the Wii. We got one when they first came out, and it is a great game system for the whole family. Young children, kids of all ages, teenagers, parents, and even grandparents can all enjoy this system. There is a wide assortment of games to meet everyone’s interest. In case you don’t know about the Wii, you can hook it up to your TV and everyone can see what’s going on at all times. And the really neat thing is that it brings everybody together in a fun way.