As this year’s brides eagerly anticipate upcoming nuptials, ‘tis the season to shower them with festive attention. If it’s your turn to host a bridal shower, make a streamlined plan so you can join in the fun.

Casual gatherings are more popular today than over-orchestrated events, so keep your shower plans focused on celebrating the bride and giving her a fun time to treasure. Serve some lemon desserts or beverages, which are refreshing, not-too-sweet and highlight a tongue-in-cheek reflection of the sweet ‘n’ sour mix of married life.

Make it delicious, memorable and fun!

Sweet, stress-free tips for a fun shower:

• Determine your menu and ask a couple guests’ help with making punch or treats.
• Invite guests that know each other or that know at least a few people at the party.
• Have a few close friends arrive early to help with last minute details and to bring the party to life.
• Designate an area for the bride to sit to open her gifts. Stock the area with scissors, trash containers and a notepad and pen to record who gave what gift.
• Provide a disposable camera or two to record the fun for the bride’s scrapbook.
• Designate who will be the bride’s note taker and photographer before the event starts.
• Recipe sharing: include recipe cards for dishes served at the shower, for guests to take home; ask guests to fill out “Happy Marriage Recipe” cards for the bride.

I’m just sayin’ »

• Why did God make mothers?

1. She’s the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

• How did God make mothers?

1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me.  He just used bigger
parts.

• What ingredients are mothers made of ?

1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in
the world and  one dab of mean.

2. They had to get their start from
men’s bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

I’m just sayin’ »

Satisfying smoothies can do more than just cool you down on a hot summer day. They can power you up, too.

Whether for breakfast, an afternoon snack, or as a lunchtime refresher, smoothies are a refreshing way to get powerful nutrition. And as a busy mom looking for convenient and tasty ways to boost my family’s nutrition, I’m cheering about how easy it is to do it.

* Fruit juices-orange, cranberry, other favorites–provide antioxidants and essential vitamins we need daily.
* Milk-especially fat-free evaporated milk-delivers essential calcium and protein.
* Add-ins provide an extra punch of super-nutrition:
o Just a half cup of pumpkin, from the can, delivers great fiber and more than a day’s worth of the antioxidant Vitamin A;
o fresh fruit like banana, berries, peach, nectarine or mango add fiber and antioxidants;
o a spoonful of peanut butter adds protein and kid-approved flavor.

If you’ve got teens or other family members who like to make their own smoothies, take advantage of  my tips to make “just in time” smoothie blending a snap:

* Keep cans of fat-free evaporated milk in the fridge for “right now” chilled smoothies.
* Bananas, peaches or other fruit almost too-ripe-to-eat? Toss in the freezer for a future smoothie.
* Fill the freezer with light, low-fat and/or reduced-sugar ice cream-in vanilla and other favorite flavors.

Whether you’re looking for nutritious meal ideas for the family or fun baking projects to keep your summer cookie jar full, be sure to visit VeryBestBaking.com.
I’m just sayin’ »

The Man Rules

I’m just sayin’ »

From: Headquarters Miami Home for the Aged To: As to whom this May Apply

Pfizer Corp. announced today that Viagra will soon be available in liquid form, and will be marketed by Pepsi Cola as a power beverage suitable for use as a mixer. It will now be possible for a man to literally pour himself a stiff one. Obviously we can  no longer call this a soft drink, and it gives new meaning to the names  of ‘cocktails’,  ‘highballs’ and just a good old-fashioned ‘stiff  drink’.
Pepsi will market the new concoction by the name of:  MOUNT & DO.

Order and thought for the day: There is more money being spent on breast implants and Viagra today than on

Alzheimer’s research. This means that by 2040, there should be a large elderly population with perky b00bs and huge erections and absolutely no recollection of what to do with them.

Perfect for the summer season of picnics and road trips, plus an excellent way to help keep cabinets organized, this new tool is economical and eco-friendly.  Try it with a variety of storage needs from small bags of dried fruits, candy and nuts to large bags of popcorn and chips – even pet food! It’s also great for bagged, economical bulk foods like granolas, grains, dried beans and trail mixes.

Here’s how it works.

See how many ways you and your family can cap it with this exciting new tool. How about:

Bag Cap is available for purchase at retailers nationwide in small, medium, and wide.

They are also refrigerator, freezer and dishwasher safe. Visit www.wilton.com to find out more.

Copco, creator of Bag Cap, is a Wilton Brands company and leading designer and manufacturer of tea kettles, kitchen product and food preparation tools.

Healthy cooking that tastes great

There’s fruit, and then there’s superfruit. What’s the difference? A superfruit has unique phytochemicals not found in other fruits – and that translates to unique health benefits.
As more and more information emerges about the power of superfruits – from açai to goji berries – an American favorite that’s been here all along is stepping into the spotlight: California Dried Plums.
Dried plums are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. And they’re loaded with surprises. Today’s dried plums are sweet, moist and tasty. Compared with other fruits, they’re surprisingly affordable, conveniently portable and always available.
California Dried Plums are the easy way to enjoy superfruit nutrition every day in cooking, baking, salads or as a quick snack anytime. Find delicious recipes at www.californiadriedplums.org.

Dried plums. What’s in ‘em for you?
-Improved digestion: A single serving (four to five dried plums) has three grams of fiber, to help you maintain good digestive health.
-Tasty nutrition: Dried plums are a nutrition powerhouse that includes B vitamins, potassium, magnesium and boron.
-Antioxidants: Dried plums have phenolics that promote good health.
-Blood sugar control: Dried plums can help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
-Cholesterol management: Fiber and other compounds in dried plums can help maintain healthy cholesterol.
-Beauty: A study among elderly people suggests dried plums may help reduce skin wrinkles.
-A perfect fit for healthful diets: Dried plums promote satiety and have only 100 calories per serving.

“Dried plums are bite-size nuggets of superfruit goodness … and they’re super-affordable and easy to fit into your busy life.”
- David Grotto, RD, LDN, author, “101 Foods That Could Save Your Life”

I’m just sayin’ »

Walking can add minutes to your life.
This enables you at 85 years old
to spend an additional 5 months in a nursing
home at $7000 per month.

My grandpa started walking
five miles a day when he was 60.
Now he’s 97 years old
and we don’t know where he is.

I like long walks,
especially when they are taken
by people who annoy me.

I’m just sayin’ »

David H. Murdock is Chairman and owner of Dole Food Company, Inc., the world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, packaged and frozen foods.

Is it possible to live to 125 or maybe 150? It’s certainly a possibility, as discussed on Oprah Winfrey’s recent show on longevity. She visited me at my farm to learn how, at 86, I am enjoying the robust health, energy, and mental creativity of someone many decades younger. My secret: large quantities of fruit and vegetables, plus an hour of daily exercise.

No pills, not even aspirin, and certainly no supplements ever enter my mouth — everything I need comes from my fish-vegetarian diet, which incorporates 30-40 different kinds of fruit and vegetables every week. Even though I am Chairman and Owner of Dole Food Company, I do most of my own grocery shopping, and even took Oprah on an impromptu trip to Costco, in a day that included bike riding, exercise in the gym, and juicing vegetables in the kitchen. Oprah marveled at how much I eat, and yet never gain a pound. In fact, I expend a lot of energy in my 50-60 minutes of cardio and strength training every day. Plus there’s the fact that fruit and vegetables tend to be lower in calories, but higher in filling fiber and other nutrients that help you feel satisfied.

By eating many fruits and vegetables in place of fast food and junk food, people could avoid obesity. Obesity accelerates aging even faster than smoking, according to scientific research.

We created the North Carolina Research Campus to study the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. It is the only campus in the world encompassing eight universities all working together for the benefit of health and longevity. These include Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill, NC State University, UNC Charlotte, North Carolina Central University, NC A&T State University, UNC Greensboro and Appalachian State University. We’ve gathered a comprehensive array of famous scientists and scientific equipment under one roof, including a two-story, 950 megahertz, 8-ton superconducting magnet. It is the largest and most powerful magnet in the world and will help us look at both plant and human cells at the most minute level. We are constantly doing research on all fruit and vegetables, including the ones listed below, which are the mainstay of my diet.

I’m just sayin’ »

Q: How many women with MENOPAUSE does it take to change a light bulb?

Woman’sAnswer:
One! ONLY ONE!!!! And do you know WHY? because  no one else in this house knows HOW to change a light bulb! They don’t even know that the bulb is BURNED OUT!! They would sit in the dark for THREE DAYS before they figured it out.
And, once they figured it out, they wouldn’t be able to find the #&%!* lightbulbs despite the fact that they’ve been in the SAME CABINET for the past 17 YEARS! But if they did, by some miracle of God, actually find them …