Whatever it is, I think it’s always best to read up on all the symptoms and treatments, whether it’s adhd symptoms, diabetes symptoms, etc.   Then a person can have some background knowledge when they go to the doctor.

I’ve had a hard time trying to get well recently, with the flu week before last, then bronchitis setting in and also pink eye (where in the world did that come from – I think maybe from a quick trip to the grocery store) last week.  Now I have this lingering cough.  I read up on all the symptoms for each of the above, and I’m doing everything I can to get over this ASAP.  I’ve finished my prescription antibiotics, and I’m taking vitamins and supplements, drinking lots of fluids, using a steam vaporizer at night (helps so much), taking hot showers, and using a lot of cough drops with menthol.   I’m so thankful I’m a lot better now!

There are still quite a few people trying to decide what to buy someone for a Christmas present.  Maybe a tv stand for their new TV, a certain item that the person receiving the gift would like to have, or maybe just a small gift to say, “Merry Christmas.”   Whatever the present, it always has been and always will be the thought behind the gift that counts!

Hi all!   Here’s this week’s questions.

1. How do drink your hot chocolate? Marshmallows? From boxed or scratch?

Mostly boxed Swiss Miss but I do make it from scratch part of the time.  No marshmallows, but I do top it with canned whipped cream sometimes.
2. Do you prefer cider hot or cold?

Hot cider!
3. Do you like egg nog?

Yes, but just a little bit is enough for me.
4. How do you make punch?

I don’t.  (except for wedding or baby showers)

Healthy Eats has a recipe for sugar cookies that is a healthier version.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Sprinkles

Mix together first 3 dry ingredients.  Use a mixer to mix oil, orange juice, eggs, and vanilla on low speed.  Slowly add dry mixture and mix until dough forms and pulls away from the edge of the bowl.  Cover and chill dough in fridge for 1-2 hours.

Roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness.  Cut out with cookie cutters.  Top with sprinkles.  Bake on greased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until edges are brown.  Let cool for 10 minutes.

There are a lot of people hurting right now for many different reasons.  Some are out of work and are having a really hard time.  They look and look for a job, but there are few jobs to be found.  Some people are trying to get their lives straightened out by going to drug rehab or some type of rehab. Others might have a serious illness or a family member with a serious illness, or they have lost someone close to them.  Whatever the reason, let’s keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to those hurting around us and give them encouragement and help when we can.

If you are using KAL Pure Stevia Extract powder like we do, then I think these conversions are not accurate for use with that brand.  In drinks such as tea or Kool-Aid then 1 “KAL spoonful” equals 1 tablespoon.  I have used this chart for baking and it did fine, but I’m thinking that maybe I could use less stevia and see how it turns out.

SUGAR AMOUNT………………STEVIA POWDER

1 cup………………………………..1 teaspoon

1/2 cup……………………………..1/2 teaspoon

1 tablespoon……………………1/4 teaspoon (this seems like too much – I use 1/8 tsp.)

1 teaspoon………………………….1/16 teaspoon

My husband and I are huge advocates of stevia.  But not just any brand of stevia because some brands leave a strong aftertaste.  Kal Stevia is the brand we’ve found to be the best so far, and we buy it online through Vitacost or at a local health food store if we have a really good coupon.  Vitacost has the best price that we’ve found, but if you find a better price then please let me know.  (One note about Vitacost.  They charge $5 shipping no matter how much or how little you order.  What we do is wait and order when we need four or five items.)   A jar of KAL Pure Stevia Extract powder (3.5 ounces) is expensive, but it lasts a long time.  I figured it out one time, and stevia is cheaper per use than buying several boxes of Sweet’ N Low which was my sweetener of choice for many years.

Why do we like stevia so much?  Here are a few reasons:

• My doctor and another medical person recommended stevia and told me not to use any artificial sweeteners including Splenda, which is chemically altered sugar.  One said that sugar, even with its negative attributes, is better for me to use than any artificial sweeteners.  This would not be true for people with certain health issues, though.
• I have substituted Kal Stevia for half of the sugar in recipes, and we can’t tell the difference.  I have used it completely with no added sugar in a cobbler recipe, and we liked it.
  
• Stevia is natural and comes from a plant that is a member of the Sunflower family.

If any of you have a gift that is hard to wrap, I saw huge gift bags at Bed, Bath, & Beyond that would work great if the gift isn’t too big.   Now, if you have truck accessories that you need to wrap, that’s a different story.   If the gift is huge or practically impossible to wrap, one thing you can do is wrap a list of clues as to where the gift is hidden and have the recipient of the gift try to find it.  That can be fun if the clues aren’t too hard.