Family
Monday, January 28, 2008, by Leigh Anne
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I am a proud Mama! You see, my sweet, high school daughter has been ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE! Now believe me I am in no rush for her to leave home, in fact for the last year I have been tearing up at the thought of it. As you know, I already have two sweet college boys (yes - we will have 3 in college at the same time next fall - yikes!$!$!) so we have been through this before. But this sweet daughter’s journey to this point in her life has been a little different than my boys.
You see Cali was born with speech and learning disabilities. Through her educational journey she has always had what is called an IEP (Individual Education Program) this has allowed her special services (resource room, speech therapy. etc.) . Learning has never come easy for her, she has had to work twice as hard at it as most people do. But Cali’s spirit, spunk and determination have brought her to today - where she has received her first college acceptance and she will be graduating with an Honor’s Diploma (which means she has taken Advanced Placement courses and completed an involved service project as well as other things)
What an amazing experience it is to see your children struggle with challenges, overcome those challenges and achieve their dreams! I have learned a lot from being Cali’s mother. I marvel at her strength, her determination not to give up and her ability to stay the course. I know that because of these traits Cali will be successful at whatever she undertakes in her life, that she will be able to overcome whatever challenge is placed in her path.
Each of us has our own set of challenges whether in business or in life. One thing Cali has taught me is that if you want something bad enough and the desire is strong in your heart you can overcome!
Being the Proud Mama that I am I wanted to share with you Cali’s college essay - it describes Cali’s journey and personality so well and I know that Cali’s spirit and determination will take her far!
“I don’t do time and money,” stated a spunky little girl-me-to her resource room teacher. But this spunk and determination helped me to overcome my learning disabilities and challenge myself in all aspects of life.
From day one, it was a challenge to speak. This brought on numerous ear surgeries and years of speech and language therapy. My late start and struggle in school with reading, talking, and understanding brought an adventure.
During elementary school, I went to the resource room. Some kids cruelly called it “the retarded kid’s” room, but I found it a safe place. In this protected space, I felt comfortable learning without being intimidated by other student’s speed of learning.
In middle school I wanted to prove that having a learning disability doesn’t equate with the label, “stupid.” I spent hours doing homework and studying. Even though I wasn’t getting straight A’s I was achieving excellence by performing at a quicker pace.
I now have the goal to graduate with an honors diploma. Even though it’s a struggle, I enjoy the challenge. With four AP classes I have learned that I am capable of new and bigger things.
My determination has helped me overcome obstacles in more then just academics. I aspired to land a leading role in a high school musical. After numerous rejections, I achieved this goal after hours of preparation and positive thinking.
Another one of my goals has been to attend BYU. I know this won’t be easy, but by overcoming my disabilities I am prepared to take on the challenge of being a BYU student. There is no greater feeling then achieving your dream after you have worked for excellence.
I love you Cali!
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Categories: Family, Goals, Motivation
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Sunday, January 27, 2008, by Leigh Anne
It’s Sunday evening and I don’t usually post but I just had to share with you my morning. My husband is out of town so the girls and I were sleeping in (it was 9 a.m. and that is sleeping in for me - not the girls). Yesterday had been a big day - I spent the day at a 1,700 person customer event at our Expo Center in town - a great day but I was tired!
The phone rang, waking me up, it was the mother of the young woman who was to teach our Sunday School lesson today - her daughter had been up all night throwing up - I needed to teach the lesson - great! I drug my body out of bed to “throw” together a last minute lesson.
An hour later (which was now an hour before church) my oldest daughter finally got up and said “Hey - wasn’t Tessa suppose to give a talk in church today?” Well - she was and we had totally forgotten! No one had written it on the calendar so - out of sight - out of mind!
Now this brought on major panic to my teenager and she announced “We can’t go to church!” You see, her name would be in the program stating she was giving a talk and she would be sitting in the congregation, not giving a talk. Obviously we had been flakes and forgotten - so true- but who wants the whole church to know!! Not my teenage daughter.
So it was now my job to call the person at church in charge to let them know we were total “flakes” and had forgotten - sorry! Don’t you just love those kind of phone calls. I could have given him a whole list of reasons why we had forgotten - finals week at school, hosting a 1,700 person event at the Expo Center, my father had major surgery this week, instead I just told the truth -we forgot!
Fortunately for my daughter the names of the speakers had not made it into the church program so at least the whole congregation wouldn’t know we had forgotten and we didn’t have to stay home from church in embarrassment.
We went to church, no one knew the better and my lesson went well. After church we made Grandpa some cupcakes and visited him in the hospital - he’s doing better and will come home tomorrow and now I am off to get a little rest at the end of my Sabbath Day and watch a little Jane Austen. (Masterpiece Theater - take me away!)
Popularity: 14% [?]
Categories: Family
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Friday, January 18, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I don’t usually make posts advertising TV shows but I just couldn’t resist. I have been a Jane Austen fan since I first read Pride and Prejudice in my English Literature class in High School. I have been in love ever since and have lost count of how many times I have read it. Well - Masterpiece Theater is having a “Complete Jane Austen” series on Sunday evenings through April 6th. It began last Sunday (sorry for the late notice) with “Persuasion” and this week is “Northanger Abbey”. So snuggle up to your TV Sunday evening or set the Tevo to record and join me in a Jane Austen Fest! One of my goals for 2008 is to read a classic piece of literature each month and this month I am reading Emma by Jane Austen. What’s your favorite Jane Austen novel?
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Categories: Family
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Saturday, January 5, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Happy 2008! Well, the decorations are down and packed away and the sweet college boys head back to school tomorrow. So before we get “back down to business” I thought I’d share one more Wilkes family fun, holiday tradition. For at least the last 30 years our family has enjoyed fondue on Christmas Eve - even when it wasn’t the “fashionable” thing to do! We’re not sure how or why the tradition started other than it was the 70’s and someone gave my mom a fondue pot. But once you start a tradition in our family it’s hard to break!
I am actually the proud owner of 5 fondue pots, including my mother’s original “burnt orange” one from the 70’s. We usually do two kinds of fondue - an oil fondue in which we cook steak, little smokies and mushrooms along with a variety of dipping sauces (ketchup, BBQ sauce, horseradish etc.). The second one is a cheese fondue. I cheat on this one and we buy this yummy Swiss cheese fondue from a local restaurant(Gustav’s or der Rheinlander) here in Portland. For those of you who don’t live in Portland - the recipe is available, although I have never actually made it. We use french bread, rye bread and vegetables to dip into the cheese. For dessert Grandma makes ice cream pie. We save the chocolate fondue for New Year’s Eve.
For chocolate fondue I use a super good and easy recipe - all it is is Toberlone chocolate and a little whipping cream. This year we did both the milk chocolate variety and the white chocolate. Yum!
Just melt the chocolate in either your microwave (be careful the white chocolate burns easily) or a double boiler. Add enough “warmed” whipping cream to make the chocolate the right consistency for dipping. (do not add the whipping cream cold or it will “bind up” the chocolate).
For dipping we use all kinds of things -pretzels, pound cake, potato chips, marshmallows, oranges, bananas, berries (raspberries in white chocolate are to die for!!), pineapple, graham crackers, brownies, rice krispie treats, miniature cookies, gummy bears, licorice - basically anything!!
Happy dipping!
Popularity: 20% [?]
Categories: Family, Recipes, Traditions
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Wednesday, December 26, 2007, by Leigh Anne
I just had to share with you what Santa brought me this year…. you see when I was a kid (in the 1970’s) there was an older couple who went to our church - Dolores and Karl Schaffer. They were quite old - in their 80’s but they were amazing people, full of life and energy. They had a tandem bike which they rode all over town and on road trips - pretty amazing for their age. When they finally decided they were too old for the bike they gave it to my parents. It was a big, old, heavy bike and my folks didn’t keep it very long - gave it to someone else at church.
For some reason -I have always loved the idea of a tandem bike and have often thought about how I would love to own one. I have mentioned this “dream” at various times, over the years, to my husband. Well, dreams do come true. Since my husband and I weren’t exchanging gifts this year I woke up Christmas morning to a note from Santa, along with a new bike helmet - telling me to look in the garage. And there, in all it’s glory, was a red, Huffy “Daisy” tandem bike from the 1970’s - in beautiful condition! I love it!! Because we actually had snow on Christmas day I didn’t get to do more than ride it up and down the street once but I can’t wait to take “Daisy” for a ride!! Thank you Santa!!
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Categories: Family
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Monday, December 24, 2007, by Leigh Anne
T’was the day before Christmas and all through the house not a creature was stirring - except for me, mom - whose “to do” list is still too long! (including updating my blog). Actually the kids are stirring because this morning, the day before Christmas, is the first time we have all been together long enough to go downtown and get our “traditional” family picture taken with Santa.
My sweet college boys arrived home Thursday evening - tired and hungry after a week of finals and with suitcases full of dirty laundry! The only time we have seen Tessa this week was on the stage - she spent 45 hours between Wednesday and Sunday at the theater - either rehearsing or performing (7 shows) in the holiday ballet - La Boutique Fantasque. She was a darling can can dancer.
So why would my kids be willing to get up in the dark during winter break to go downtown to get their picture taken with Santa (especially when they are 14, 18, 21 and 23??) Well, you see for the past 23 years we have been going downtown to what was Meier & Frank, and is now Macy’s, to have our picture taken with Santa. When Logan was 18 months old he decided he did not like Santa and began to scream when we placed him on Santa’s lap - Santa invited Jim and I to join Logan on his lap and thus a new family tradition began- the whole family on Santa’s lap. So you see this is not a tradition that can be forgotten or ignored - in fact we have a photo album full of those family photos with Santa.
Today I thought I’d share with you another Wilkes family holiday tradition. This weekend we hosted our annual “Neighborhood Breakfast with Santa”. For years we use to take our kids downtown to “Breakfast with Santa” at Meier & Frank, a breakfast held in their beautiful Victorian Restaurant complete with pancakes and sausage, a musical show put on by Beaverton High School and of course a visit from Santa. Three years ago we decided the kids were just too old so we started a new tradition - we held our own Breakfast with Santa at our house and invited our younger neighborhood kids and their families.
This past Saturday morning - 12 of our neighbors, in their pajamas, joined us for breakfast. We served the traditional pancakes (with your choice of blueberries or chocolate chips), little sausages, fruit and hot chocolate. Each family constructed a gingerbread house and of course there was a visit from Santa with gifts for all the kids. I think this is one of my favorite holiday activities. We love our neighbors and spending this relaxing time with them during the hustle of the holidays is such a nice break. One of the yummiest parts of the breakfast though was the cinnamon syrup - the recipe I will share with you today. It is perfect over pancakes or waffles and is so yummy!!
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup whipping cream
In medium saucepan, stir all ingredients together EXCEPT cream. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in cream. Cool 30 minutes. Syrup will thicken as it cools. Serve warm.
So after our trip downtown I’m off to the grocery store - again! Merry Christmas!!
O.K. so I didn’t get this blog entry posted before we left for Santa so I’ll share with you our family photo with Santa. We had to buy two different ones - check out Clark’s face in the first picture - always the family clown! (click on the photo to enlarge it). The angle the photographer used makes me look like a total midget!! I’ve also posted our very first family photo with Santa - in 1985. Please excuse the hair - it was the 80’s!
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Categories: Family, Recipes
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Wednesday, December 12, 2007, by Leigh Anne
Have you ever felt like you just weren’t getting everything done? Do you have too many projects that won’t fit into your weekly/daily schedule? Too many loose ends - not enough time! I feel that way quite often - especially with a homebased business when there are so many other distractions during your day. Those “waiting to be done” piles/lists just keep getting higher and longer. Those piles/lists can include things like getting that customer newsletter out, making needed phone calls, bookkeeping, bill paying and even things like sewing on a button, a pile of ironing and this time of year things like getting those Christmas cards out and finishing up your gift shopping etc.
Whenever I get feeling this way - a bit panicked by all the things I haven’t finished, I declare a Catch Up Day! It is a great time management technique. The Catch Up Day is basically a whole day (or if you have to - half a day) of “white space” on your calendar. The need for a Catch Up Day happens to all of us - even the most disciplined and most organized. When you are feeling that “panicked feeling” select a day from your upcoming week/month that you leave totally white - I actually draw a big X through the day I select on my calendar - and then try your hardest to schedule NOTHING for that day(except things that you need to get done). I know, I know, this can be a challenge so that’s why if you have to - a half a day is better than nothing!
Well, I was having that “panicked” feeling last week so I decided it was time for a Catch Up Day -so I had one yesterday! To make the best use of your Catch Up Day spend some time the night before preparing. Make a list of all the things you want to accomplish - even sewing on that button or filing those papers. The next day you will be ready to go - now for those of you with small children at home this may require a babysitter but I promise you it will be worth it! Find a friend and trade babysitting for each other’s Catch Up Days!
Once you designate your Catch Up Day DO NOT be tempted to allow other people to fill up that white space for you, only you are allowed to choose what you will do that day.
I use my Catch Up Days for both personal and business things - doesn’t matter what it is - if it is something that has been bugging you, hanging around for ever, put it on the list! Even going out to lunch with a friend you haven’t seen in months qualifies! The important thing is you choose how to use that time - don’t allow others to fill in that white space for you.
I thought I’d share with you what I did on my Catch Up Day. My least favorite holiday activities are sending out Christmas cards and stocking stuffers. I always leave these two things to the last minute and it ends up causing me all kinds of stress! So this year I decided I wasn’t going to do that - so I included them in my Catch Up Day list.
1. Purchased holiday paper and labels for Christmas cards and wrote family letter(the cards had actually been ordered and printed before Thanksgiving). Began addressing envelopes (didn’t finish)
2. Went to Target for stocking stuffers and all the fast food restaurants for gift cards for the stockings. Made sure I had “equal” amounts for each child - very important!
3. Placed a product order and delivered product to two people.
4. Bought a black “Marks a Lot” marker so Tessa could color her point shoes black for the holiday ballet. I had to go to THREE stores to find a “Marks a Lot” - it couldn’t be a Sharpie, that would be too easy. Every store had Sharpies!
5. Returned overdue books to the library - oops! I love supporting our libraries with my overdue fines.
6. Called the oral surgeon to schedule a time for Tessa to have her wisdom teeth out -I have needed to do that for several months!
7. Posted the photos from the school play on the website so other parents could see them (the play was a month ago!)
8. Purchased my last two Christmas gifts. Yeah!
9. Stood in line at the post office to mail off the last of the “long distance” gifts!
10. Did some research for my trip to Alabama this weekend - what is there to do in Mobile, Alabama? I discovered - not much! Jim’s company Christmas party is this weekend and they are flying me back for it. At least I can now say I’ve been to Alabama. Anyone from Alabama have some ideas for us???
So if life/business is feeling a little out of control and you have too many things on your to do list that aren’t getting done - schedule a Catch Up Day. You will be amazed how great you feel the next day!
Popularity: 37% [?]
Categories: Direct Sales, Family, Home Based Business, Team Talk, Time Management
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Sunday, December 2, 2007, by Leigh Anne
When you find a couple of ripe bananas on your counter what is the first thing you think of ? Most likely - it’s banana bread! Well, next time you find a couple of ripe bananas give this recipe a try - they are so yummy! It makes a huge batch since it uses a big jellyroll pan so there are plenty to share. It’s a good “potluck” dessert since it makes so much My friend Jane Densley shared this recipe with me and it has become a family favorite. My favorite part is the cream cheese frosting on top. So if you have any leftover banana bars be sure and refrigerate them so the cream cheese doesn’t go bad.
Cream: 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1/2 cup butter, 2 eggs.
Add: 1 cup sour cream, 1 tsp. vanilla
Combine and add dry ingredients: 2 cups flour, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1/4 tsp. salt
Stir in 2 medium ripe mashed bananas (enough to make 1 cup). Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes in jelly roll pan
Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, soft
2 tsp. vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
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Categories: Cookie Jar, Family, Recipes
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Monday, November 26, 2007, by Leigh Anne
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed time with friends and family. We loved having our two sweet college boys home – they are back at school and the house is empty of food but we loved every minute of it!
So – have you ever dreamed or fantasized about spending an entire day at home in your pajamas? Lounging in bed, reading a good book, watching your favorite TV shows, taking care of no one but you? Well, that dream came true for me over the holiday weekend – unfortunately it was accompanied by a horrible case of intestinal flu! I did spend the day in bed, in my pajamas, watching a “What Not to Wear” Marathon and the food network but unfortunately it was not exactly what I had dreamed about!
Why is it that as woman/mothers it takes something like a case of intestinal flu to get us to slow down and take care of ourselves? Why do we push aside our dreams, self-nurturing, hobbies and interests for everything and everyone else?
I think homebased moms are even guiltier of this because we never leave the office. We are surrounded by our office, our work 24-7. It is so easy to just go in and check that email one more time, make one more call, do one more thing. The boundary or separation between work and home/personal life can sometimes be non-existent when you are a homebased mom.
For years I have had the following quote in my collection:
“Mixing personal time to do anything with raising a family is like putting oil and vinegar in a salad dressing jar. You have a hard time keeping them together and it takes a lot of juggling and constant mix-ups to keep them well blended.” Janene Wesley Boadsgaerd
I think we could add “running a homebased business” to that quote too. Keeping the two blended and balanced is a lot of work and it is also a choice.
When you first begin a homebased business there are sacrifices that need to be made. When I first started my direct sales business several of my interests, hobbies had to be put on the back burner for a period of time – but that does not mean FOREVER!
Several weeks ago I attended a Women’s Retreat in Napa, California. As I sat in the retreat house with these women I was so impressed that this group of women – many of them homebased moms, others worked outside the home as lawyers, real estate agents, therapists, but all of them had made a commitment to themselves. They had set aside their other priorities and obligations to devote an entire weekend to themselves – and it didn’t take a case of intestinal flu!
So ask yourself - What are you too busy to do – what have you put off doing because you’re too busy? While I spent that time in bed this weekend, life went on around me, everyone survived! When I returned from my weekend in Napa Valley, the house still stood, the family got fed and all was well and the other amazing thing was that this morning as I am feeling better, I actually enjoyed putting a load of laundry in and picking up a few of the messes that were made. Having had that break from those jobs helped!
I have learned that when you make the time and space for what you long to do, everything else shifts to accommodate it
Popularity: 25% [?]
Categories: Direct Sales, Family, Home Based Business
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Wednesday, November 21, 2007, by Leigh Anne
They’re home! Late last night (their flight got in at 10:30 p.m.) my two sweet college boys got home. And guess where the first place they went was? - the pantry and refrigerator to check out what was there! One of the treats waiting on the counter for them was a freshly baked batch of Snickerdoodles. When Clark was in high school he and his buddies would hang out at the house playing Halo - they always requested Snickerdoodles! I made a lot of Snickerdoodles his senior year! Snickerdoodles are just a classic in the cookie department so I’m not going to post my recipe but if you need a good one just email me and I’ll send it along!
This week as I was doing a little blog surfing on some of my favorite food blogs I found another recipe for a classic - rice krispie treats. Now you may think - everyone has that recipe - it’s on the back of the box! True, but not all rice krispie treats are created equal! Almost two years ago my father was going through cancer treatment at a local hospital. It was a hard and stressful time for our family and we spent a lot of time at the hospital. One of the things we discovered in the cafeteria at the hospital were these amazing rice krispie treats! First of all - they were BIG and they were nice and soft and gooey! So when I found this rice krispie treat recipe I thought I’d give it a try -and guess what - they taste just like the ones at the hospital. It may be silly but during that stressful time in our life those rice krispie treats brought some enjoyment and comfort.
So thanks to Katherine of How to Be a Domestic Goddess here is a great “comfort food” recipe!
Start with one full bag of marshmallows, I used mini but you can also use the large. Now here come’s the secret. Add
1 cube of butter instead of the 1/4 cup the recipe suggests. Trust me.
Melt in microwave on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.
Mix marshmallows and butter until butter melts and mixture is smooth. (If the butter doesn’t melt, microwave for an extra 15 seconds or so.)
Just pour the rice krispies into the bowl without messing with measuring cups. I used an 18 oz. box and had just over 8 cups leftover (sorry I didn’t measure, I just kept pouring until it looked right) You don’t want to add too much rice krispies or they won’t be as soft and gooey as they should be.
Mix away. What we’re trying to avoid here is big gloppy amounts of white marshmallow.
Once the marshmallow-butter mixture is evenly mixed in, pour into a pan and allow to set. Enjoy
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Categories: Cookie Jar, Family, Recipes
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