Christmas Message and Two Recipes

Merry Christmas, Myrna and Leonard! Love, EllaDean Hunter

Sometimes we need reminding of what life is all about. Especially at times during the Holiday season, when all we seem to do is clean and bake and shop and and and and and and and.... You get the picture, I'm sure.

So stop for a moment and hug that little one so special, whether he/she is 2 or 22, or even older than that. For they are the Gift that God gave us in life...and what a gift to be treasured, far above any other! May the real meaning of Christmas be with you all this year, is my prayer.

Love Ya Susan

Poppitycockle
Kid's love this one!

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1/2 cup Karo or corn syrup
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 bags unsalted peanuts
Instructions
Microwave above(except the peanuts) for 9-15 minutes, until forms thread when dropped in cold water.

Pop 2 quarts salted popcorn. Put popcorn and peanuts into a greased bowl. Pour the sauce over and stir. Turn out in pan lined with waxed paper and spread out a little. Let cool and break apart.

Store in sealed containers.

White Chocolate Haystacks
This recipe can be doubled easily!


Ingredients
1 1/4 lb. (20 oz.) White Chocolate, using chips, bark or blocks is OK!

10 oz. red skin spanish peanuts, lightly salted works best.

1/2 - 3/4 10 oz. bag of pretzel sticks, broken into halves/thirds or use pretzel "O's".
Instructions
Melt chocolate in 13 x 9 pan (or larger if
doubling recipe) in oven at 250 degree oven
until liquid. Stir in peanuts & pretzels
to cover in chocolate.

Spoon onto wax paper lined trays. Cool.

Melt additional white chocolate or semi-
sweet chocolate chips and drizzle over top
of 'haystacks'. We like the white with the
semi-sweet caps and then to make them a bit
more festive, we use multi-colored sprinkles
to finish the haystacks!

Wonderful sweet-salt treat!

Store in airtight container.

Makes 3-4 dozen haystacks!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

For moms!

Written by Karen Spiegler. Originally published in "Maniac Moms: A Humorous Newsletter for Crazed Mothers" in December/1993. 

When this season gets to be too much - just read this poem...

 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all thru the abode

Only one creature was stirring, & she was cleaning the commode.

The children were finally sleeping, all snug in their beds,

while visions of Nintendo 64 & Barbie, flipped through their heads.

The dad was snoring in front of the TV,

with a half-constructed bicycle propped on his knee.

So only the mom heard the reindeer hooves clatter,

which made her sigh, "Now what is the matter?"

With toilet bowl brush still clutched in her hand,

She descended the stairs, & saw the old man.

He was covered with ashes & soot, which fell with a shrug,

"Oh great," muttered the mom, "Now I have to clean the rug."

"Ho Ho Ho!" cried Santa, "I'm glad you're awake."

"your gift was especially difficult to make."

"Thanks, Santa, but all I want is time alone."

"Exactly!" he chuckled, "So, I've made you a clone."

"A clone?" she muttered, "What good is that?"

"Run along, Santa, I've no time for chit chat."

Then out walked the clone - The mother's twin,

Same hair, same eyes, same double chin.

"She'll cook, she'll dust, she'll mop every mess.

You'll relax, take it easy, watch The Young & The Restless."

"Fantastic!" the mom cheered. "My dream has come true!"

"I'll shop, I'll read, I'll sleep a night through!"

From the room above, the youngest did fret.

"Mommy?! Come quickly, I'm scared & I'm wet."

The clone replied, "I'm coming, sweetheart."

"Hey," the mom smiled, "She sure knows her part."

The clone changed the small one & hummed her tune,

as she bundled the child in a blanket cocoon.

"You're the best mommy ever. I really love you."

The clone smiled & sighed, "And I love you, too."

The mom frowned & said, "Sorry, Santa, no deal."

That's my child's LOVE she is trying to steal."

Smiling wisely Santa said, "To me it is clear,

Only one loving mother is needed here."

The mom kissed her child & tucked her in bed.

"Thank You, Santa, for clearing my head.

I sometimes forget, it won't be very long,

when they'll be too old for my cradle & song."

The clock on the mantle began to chime.

Santa whispered to the clone, "It works every time."

With the clone by his side Santa said "Goodnight.

Merry Christmas, dear Mom, You will be all right."

Please Respond

Myrna wrote: I had a package of jingle bell ornaments to go inside each package. I did not include them (no laughing, I am your mother) and I want to know if I should send them or just send money so you can buy your own at WalMart. If you don't mind doing that, it would probably mean that you would have them in time for Christmas. Let me know.

Also there is a plastic cookie cutter inside the books package for each member of the family. Dad is thinking they might break. If so, let me know and I will send more inside a padded package. I looked all over for metal ones but failed to find them. You can get them on-line but the postage was a killer. The cookie cutters were less expensive than the postage.


Todd wrote: Not worried about the bells or the money. Will look for the cookie cutters.

Kirsten wrote: We put the package under the tree for Christmas AM; now I guess I don't need to open it...  (j/k).  ;D

Just hold onto ours and we'll get them next time we come to town.

Todd wrote: You know they have a support group for iPhone users?

Melanie wrote: I just bought a bunch of bell ornaments, so save your money, I will let the children know that this year's ornaments from you were bells, and that the bells are from you. 

I haven't opened the package. It is Mikaela's first sleep-over, so we have several young girls at our home--the first in many years! I think I am getting too old for sleep-overs...I heard a rumor that when you say that, they call you to be the Camp Director for you ward, so...I guess I have a few hours to kill before going to bed, maybe I had better open the package. 

Todd wrote: I want to be camp director. Oh, wait, I am! Every month!

Myrna wrote: Oh, there are other goodies in the package. There are even other ornaments, just not the bells. As for being camp director, Julie promised me that I could be hers when she was coming out of anesthesia after her gallbladder was removed. When she really came to, she let me off the hook. As for old. Let me tell you about old. One of the sisters at the temple was quite shocked that I would soon be 69. She had no idea I was "THAT OLD! I mean, that is really OLD. There are people in the care center younger than you are, Myrna."

Dane

On Dec 16, 2009, at 3:07 PM, trauntvein wrote:

It’s official, Dane is 5’12” .  He went in today for an ear/sinus infection and I had them measure him.  Plus his doctor he hasn’t seen in a year couldn’t believe he’d grown so much.

  

So, doesn't that make him 6'?  Or are we staying in the 5' "range" to make the other male species in the Trauntvein family feel better? :)

Kirsten

It is so I feel better.

Interestingly, when Melanie told Mom yesterday that the lifting thing would limit some of the grandchildren that she could pick up and tote about, I agreed quickly in my mind that she probably needed to quit doing that with Dane. Melanie is right, he can mostly get around by himself now.

 Shawn

I will only feel sorry for you when your youngest daughter is taller than you...like mine is now. 
Mel

I meant like Mikaela is taller than me...not taller than you...dang those modified danglers...

Melanie

RE: Mom and Dad

You pretty much had changed the diet portion because most of the food was affecting you, so it won't be too much of a change. The lifting thing, that limits the grandchildren that you can carry, but since most of them are old enough to walk, you should be okay there as well. Now, carrying Dad on your back while taking him to the neighbors so that he can do service, will just have to stop. And the burdens of your life need to be put on someone else's shoulders...other than that...I think you are all set.


Seriously, I am glad that it isn't cancer. We have seen to much suffering from this among our loved ones.
Mel


I am very glad that it isn't cancer, even though it still isn't a bed of roses.  Please, you and Tim take it easy and follow the doctors' advice - Tim can heal and hopefully you can respond to the treatment without further procedures.  It sounds as though you have everything in hand. (Listen to Mel!!)
We love you both, and please keep us informed as you get better!  :)
Dave Childs

More Fun for the Old Folks at Home

LHT fell again and broke four ribs again. It is on the same side, the left side, that he has broken three times before this. He had just finished snowplowing the whole neighborhood and our driveway. He then decided to go into the garage and get some ice melt to sprinkle on the driveway and oops! He fell on his side and just laid there for a minute. It took him until the next day to decide he needed to go to the doctor. Sure enough, there were four broken ribs. It takes about six weeks to heal. It's a good thing that Jim's dad came down to help drive to California. I don't think LHT could have made it. He has had a lot of pain. Luckily for him, one of our new neighbors across the street has a plow attached to a truck and he has been doing the street side as we got nothing but slush and smush out of the last storm. LHT has been doing the sidewalks and driveways but the little plow on our 4-wheeler works just fine. Of course, pain or no pain, he has continued to do the sidewalks and driveways of every widow, widower and sick person that he knows.

I don't have cancer. If the doctors keep playing with my emotions like this, if, or when, I get cancer I won't believe them. I had a colonoscopy and an endoscopy. The bottom half looks great "for a woman of my age." The top half, not so great. At any rate, I do have esophageal lesions from acid reflux but they may be treated without surgery. That was what was causing me to vomit so often and to have diarrhea. That is why blood was coming. So, as a result of the two inside peeks Dr. Anderson made, he knows, as if we didn't already have record of it, that I have GERD. When Dr. Tatton prescribed the meds he gave me the average dose and, for quite a while, I thought it was working. Then I started being sick at least once or twice a week. I have to take Prilosec two times a day, rather than once a day because that treatment wasn't working. That gives me 40 mg daily. As for the hiatal hernia, Dr. Anderson, who is a surgeon, said he prefers to try and treat before operating. He saves that procedure for the last ditch and tries several approaches first. 

He told me that a hiatal hernia is a condition in which the upper portion of the stomach protrudes into the chest cavity through an opening of the diaphragm called the esophageal hiatus. This opening usually is large enough to accommodate the esophagus alone. With weakening and enlargement however, the opening (or herniation) can allow upward passage or even entrapment of the upper stomach above the diaphragm. Hiatal hernia is a common condition. By age 60, up to 60 percent of people have it to some degree. I am not so bad that my stomach stays up.

Suspected causes or contributing factors to a hernia are: obesity, poor seated posture (such as slouching), frequent coughing, straining with constipation, pregnancy and childbirth, frequent bending over or heavy lifting, heredity, smoking and congenital defects. I'll give you one guess what caused mine and if you say childbirth I'll laugh because I think it is heredity. Of course, I do my fair share of slouching over the computer.

Lifestyle changes are often necessary to avoid symptoms of hiatal hernia. He said I should minimize heavy lifting, straining, bending over, improve my seated posture and not slouch, exercise more, lose weight, sleep on an incline with the head of the bed raised 4-6 inches on blocks and choose standing activities after a meal rather than sitting or reclining. I am to avoid the following: caffeine, chocolate (oh, no! UGH!!!!!), fried or fatty foods, peppermint, alcohol (don't use it anyway), citrus foods, tomatoes, meals within 2-3 hours of bedtime, large meals (eat smaller meals more frequently) and smoking (not a problem since I don't smoke). I also get to eat Metamucil wafers twice a day because they help cut the acid.

Shawn said:

Sorry to hear your news. Kimberly just got back from the doctor also, she broke her 5^th metatarsal when she rolled her foot last night. She has been wearing a Velcro-boot contraption that acts like a splint. She can take it off for a bath, but it is supposed to be on the rest of the time until the bone heals.

 We have been having fun this week. Sorina just started on antibiotics for strep yesterday, and Dane was already on them for an ear infection.


Kimberly said:

Not like a cancer scare or even breaking 4 ribs!  I’m in a lovely Velcro boot for six weeks minimum and on crutches, which may kill me.  But not too much pain, just a really strong desire to stretch and flex my foot.  And Shawn sleeps in fear that I will take him our with my steel boot.

Snowman Humor From Melanie

Mleanie wrote: And you think you have it bad. A little humor to lighten this snowy weather.

Myrna wrote; Did the "picking the nose" one remind you of the brothers and their joke? You know, "You can pick your friends. . .?" I'm still chuckling. I can't wait for Dad to come in from the snow shoveling to show him. Love, M

Merry Christmas from Gordon and Roberta Smith

Dear Myrna, Leonard and family,

 

Hope you don't mind the informal way of extending a sincere Merry Christmas to you and yours. Time is getting close, and we do want you to know that we appreciate and value you and your family's friendship.  We love your letters and information that you send to us.  I don't always get to see them, as Gordon is the computer person at our home.

 

You never have a dull moment at your home, or with your family.  Seems the same here, often. Gordon told me that Leonard had some broken ribs, ouch!  Be sure not to make him laugh or cough. Do hope he is beginning to be more comfortable.  He also said that you are having some health problems.  Keep us up to date.  Know that you are remembered in our prayers.

 

Merry Christmas and may the new year bring better health, joy and peace to you and yours.

 

Love, Gordon and Roberta

Tom and Laurel

Please note our new email address.

tom_laurelm@emerytelcom.net

Happy Holidays

 

Tom & Laurel

Question: Money VS Gift

Myrna Trauntvein, 12/09/08
Who wants money and who wants gifts for Chistmas?

From: Melanie

BOTH, if you are asking!!! ;-)

Eric wrote:

Mom 

 Mom, you should know better than to ask that of me. Thanks for the option.

E.

Myrna wrote:
Now, why should I know better? I keep forgetting the lessons I should have (but failed) to learn. Love, M

From: Eric

Are my teen years a blur? Always money. Not a lot, just enough to get something really cool from the Dollar store, hint hint.

Myrna wrote: 
My life is a blur. It is not just your teen years that I don't remember. I don't even remember my own. It would be nice, impossible, but nice, if Heavenly Father didn't remember my past any better than I do. Love, M















Love, M
Who wants money and who wants gifts for Chistmas?

Love, M

Is Ann OK? Yep, I have been scammed but did not send money.

Myrna wrote:

You will note the crazy way that the following is written. It is, obviously, not written by Ann. So why did I let myself become alarmed? Now I would, and have done, just have deleated the letter and moved on. I did not do that. I think that I caused more trouble than I should have. I am sorry but now Ann does not email anymove.

From: annolsen9@gmail.com

Hi,
     I'm sorry for this odd request because it might get to you too urgent but it's because of the situation of things right now, i'm stuck in london  right now, i came down here on vacation , i was robbed, worse of it is that bags, cash, cards and my cell phone was stolen at GUN POINT, it's such a crazy experience for me, i need help flying back home, the authorities are not being 100% supportive but the good thing is i still have my passport but dont have enough money to get my flight ticket back home, please i need you to loan me some money, will refund you as soon as i'm back home, i give you my word.

Love
Ann

Myrna wrote: I do not think this sounds like you. Have Ronnie call me from his home phone. M

Melanie, do you have any of the Olsen's e-mail addresses or phone numbers? Could your friend who is a relation supply them?


Melanie wrote: I'll see if Cheri will give me Robin's address.

I still have to send you Siovhan's. I have it in my cellphone, not my address book.
This isn't a true message. You might have been hacked. Contact Todd.

Mel

AnnMarie wrote:

Mom, 
I'm sure you know by now that this is a scam.  It is about a year old.  Next time, it would be best to not reply at all.
AnnMarie

AnnMarie T. Howard
Chief Deputy Juab County Attorney

Myrna wrote: I was put off by this. The scams I have received in the past have not been from an address of a friend that I have emailed several times a week.


AnnMarie wrote: That is how they do them now.  It will almost always come from an email address you frequently receive mail from.  They get into her address book and send them out to everyone she has listed as "contacts".  I get them from Annette and Jared all of the time telling me to buy a watch, that I have fraudulent activity in my bank account, or to buy various pills.  I got this exact one last year from an in-county email address.  It is the language verbatim.  

Myrna wrote: I received a call from Ann. She said that one of her neighbors had called her to tell her about it and then she had heard from Rebecca that I had also been concerned. She stopped using that e-mail address and contacted g-mail. Sounds like they won't do anything about it. Rebecca was on Facebook and so was Ann. That will likely now change. The wisest thing, then, is just to ignore emails of this type.