12-16-08

Waiting for the gift game to start
Playing the gift game

Tree with all the gifts

Heading down the line of scrumptious food.

Our table of ladies


So today we had our little Christmas party at MOPS. With a ton of scrumptious food. Would it be MOPS without great food? Hmmmm, maybe we should try that out one time....OR not!

Pastor Dane Snyder and his wife Sherrie spoke today on finding the purpose of Christmas. They did a wonderful job of tag teaming.

Then we played a dice game to determine which gift you got. Once everyone had a gift we began rolling the dice again. If you rolled doubles you got to go and take another gift. This lasted for a LONG 3 minutes. However, at the end I did still have my wonderful reindeer candle holder that I wanted!

Meet the Moppet Teachers

MOPS would not be possible without our dedicated and caring Moppet volunteers!
Introducing the Moppet Team:

Tree House:

Monte

Julie

Heather

Friendship Room:

Karyn

Andreya
Brandon

Melinda

In the Nursery:

Jennifer

Jackie

Marilyn

Diana

Bailey

Not pictured in Nursery is Rebecca Myhill

12-2-08

Today's meeting was very fun.
Heidi Fox came and gave us some great holiday tips. Heidi is "budget caterer". She caterers friends, family & church functions. She said she is often referred to as Martha but is by far not Martha. Through her tips she gave a bit of her testimony growing up & how she believes her love for cooking is her God given talent. She encouraged each of us to find the talent God has given us because He has given each of us our own unique talent.

A few tips we learned today were:

• How to set a table with multiple layers using books or boxes to create layers & then "puddling" the table cloth or fabric over it. Think outside box when looking for table decorations. Some of her best table cloths aren't really table cloths at all. Example she gave was to use a fabric shower curtain.
• Use neutral platters when serving. Then you can let your food set the mood or be the presentation.
• She loves the knives found at Costco Business center. (roughly around $7.00)
• QFC sharpens knives for free in the butcher department or you can buy the handy dandy Samuri Sharke at Walmart.
• Some of her favorite cookbooks are

1. Martha Stewart Cookie Cookbook - she recommends the basic Choc. Chip recipe
2. Cake Mix Doctor - recommends the Carrot cake
3. Barefoot Contessa
4. Cooks Illustrated - each recipe reads like a novel but gives great tips like - soak a spiral
ham for 90 minutes before cooking. This helps to maintain the juices.

• Basic kitchen items she uses daily: kids ruler for measuring (it's dishwasher safe!), cake leveler for leveling/cutting cakes (cut a round cake into 4 pieces and you have a "torte"), and a digital scale that measures up to 12 pounds.
• Instant coffee/espresso is a great add in to any brownie or cookie recipe. Add 1tbsp per recipe for a little kick.
• Finally - she loves, loves, loves Costco!! - she mentioned many times - Anyone who knows me knows I was happy - as my husband is a manager at Costco - so you ladies spending money helps us pay our mortgage. A win-win for all of us ;o).
  
• Costco tips - When a price at ends in .97 it's a markdown and if the tag has a * in the corner it means that this item isn't coming back to the store - so buy it when you see it.

Our craft today was assembling a bag of Cranberry Pecan scone mix.
3.5 cups of scone mix
3/4 cup of craisins
1/3 cup pecans
Then we attached the recipe card & a pretty Christmas ribbon. I can't decide if I am going to make the scones or give them away. I love the way the little package looks but then again the scones will taste even better!

Okay, I believe that sums it up. Don't forget next time to bring a gift for the gift exchange. A gift found at home that you aren't using. Janas idea an un-opened bottle of lotion ( we all have at least one of these lying around)

What do MOPS mom's do for fun?

They go to the New Kids On The Block concert!!!!!

Yes, that's right a few of your fellow MOPS mom's attended the NKOTB concert. And when the concert started these MOPS mom's most certainly were waving their hands in the air, singing along and screaming their hearts out. We had a blast!!! Oh, and by the way.....we traveled in style to the concert.....a red minivan ;o)

Sweet soccer mom faces



Our party faces