Newspaper Page Text
HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Peggy's Pointers
Peggy
Bledsoe
Houston
County
Extension
Coordinator
Enjoying the
holidays
The holiday season is a
time to make memories yet
we often get so stressed we
find it difficult to find time
to get ready for the holi
days and socialize. Why not
invite some friends over for
a baking party or a cookie
swap? The baking party will
require some organization
on the part of the hostesses,
but what fun you and your
guests will have baking and
socializing.
For the baking party, select
several kinds of cookies for
your guests to make. Drop
or slice and bake cookies are
good choices. Think about
how many times each recipe
will be made so you will have
enough ingredients. Plan for
each guest to take home at
least three dozen cookies to
enjoy. Purchase the ingre
dients for the recipes and
set up an ingredients table.
Have numerous copies of
the recipes the group will
make.
Create a cooking tools cen
ter where all the utensils
needed for the selected reci
pes can be easily acquired.
For example, measuring
cups and spoons, mixing
spoons, mixing bowls, spat
ulas, mixers, cookie sheets,
and cooling racks along with
hot pads should be handy for
your guests to find. If coun
ter space is limited, bring in
several card tables to use.
Cover the card tables with
paper and let them be the
cooling center for the bak
ing party.
Have your guests divided
into teams. Give each team
a recipe and instructions for
gathering ingredients and
supplies.
Then the fun begins!
After the baking and cool
ing are completed, pull out
the cookie tins. It’s time
to pack the cookies into tins
for your guests to take home
and enjoy. Make sure you
have tasty refreshments
available throughout the
baking party. Warm cookies
and hot cider are a perfect
combination, but don’t eat
too many cookies.
Remember these are going
home with your guests!
The cookie swap is one
way to cut down on the bak
ing you need to do and social
ize at the same time. For a
cookie swap, everyone bakes
two or three batches of their
favorite cookies. Then you
get together and swap the
cookies.
Of course, the coordina
tor needs to determine the
group participating in the
swap and let them how
many cookies to bring. The
hostesses might plan a light
lunch to be followed by cook
ie sampling.
Plan some time to share
your favorite Christmas
memories.
• ••
Don’t let stress put a
damper on your holiday
plans. Here are several
ways to reduce the stress
and enjoy the season.
• Participate in physi
cal activity. Relieve that
uptight feeling by taking a
walk, or going for a bike
ride. The body and mind
work together. Sometimes
the key to mental relief is a
good physical workout.
• Toss the stressors you
can’t change. Do you often
spend time worrying about
“what ifs?” Make a list of
your stresses and worries.
Determine what is real and
in your control. Toss the
See BLEDSOE, Page jC
FOOD&HOME
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Boys will be boys -
Journal/Charlotte Perkins
Bo George of Warner Robins couldn’t wait for a fork at the ‘Pigs
and Wings’ barbecue event. He just bit right in. For more on Pigs
and Wings, see Page 18C.
With a little help from her friends...
Perryan wins a gourmet dinner for the friends who make up her ‘Momtourage’
By CHARLOTTE
PERKINS
Journal Staff Writer
Leslie Strath is a Perry
mom with a hectic sched
ule. A nurse practicioner
with the challenging job of
providing care at a women’s
prison, she’s usually up at
4:30 a.m. and out the door
at 5:30, then back home by
3 p.m. to meet her son as
he returns from school, to
take the dog out, catch up on
housework and start dinner.
How does she do it all?
With a little help from her
friends: Regina Palladeno,
Elizabeth Valdivia, Consuelo
Blye, Shannon Armistead,
Norma Vasquez, Blayne
Haley and Gail Smith!
These friends, who are all
from Perry, and mostly are
Strath’s neighbors in the
Notting Hill subdivision,
have given her the support
she’s need as she’s faced the
challenges of juggling work
and motherhood, getting her
education and getting ahead
- and they’re the ones she
thought of when ivillage, a
top online destination for
women, asked for entries
in its Momtourage competi
tion.
What’s a Momtourage? A
group of moms offering each
other friendship and sup
port. In Strath’s case, she’s
gotten everything from help
with her lawn to help with
her grocery shopping, invita
tions for her son, invaluable
advice, homecooked meals,
and when needed, shoulders
to cry on.
See MOMTOURAGE, Page iSC
Leslie Strath, at the
head of the table, gets
ready for a gourmet meal
with her “Momtourage,”
friends Regina Palladeno,
Elizabeth Valdivia,
Consuelo Blye, Shannon
Armistead, Norma Vasquez,
Blayne Haley and Gail
Smith.
Journal/Charlotte Perkins
ANTICIPA-A-A-A-A-TION!
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Chef Richard Blais mixes up a batch
of liquid nitrogen margaritas for Strath
and her friends. The nitrogen freezes
the beverage.
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and girls will be girls -
Journal/Charlotte Perkins
Klayson Rummell was a perfect lady at the Front Porch Tea Room’s
Make A Wish Christmas Tea. For more on this very fancy benefit
tea, see Page 18C.
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Leslie Strath toasts the friends who make her life easier by offering sup
port as she meets the challenge of being a working single mom. She won
the dinner for eight with an essay she wrote about how her friends pitch
in to help her be a good mom and reach her career goals too.
SECTION: C
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2008