Angie Windheim

Just added a few more tidbits of wisdom to eHow.  I share menu ideas for hosting a football game get-together and the breakdown of hosting a holiday brunch. I absolutely love the idea of brunches as a way to change up that Christmas Eve get-together. You can make everything the night before and you aren’t having to juggle those last  minute Christmas details with a bunch of big dinner clean up.  It’s also a nice way to keep family and friends off the road after dark on Christmas Eve.  I plan to blog some of my favorite breakfast/brunch recipes shortly so stay-tuned.

Thanksgiving started out with a very fun run/walk at the annual Give N’ Gobble. There were easily twice as many participants as last year which was great to see.  We all beat our times from last year and are already talking about goals for next year.  I’m definitely going to find myself a goofy turkey hat for the occasion.

I haven’t hosted the Thanksgiving meal in quite some time. I’ll have to say, now don’t groan, that I loved doing it. I actually had fun. The stuffing, the turkey, the pecan crusted sweet potatoes and the gravy all turned out super yummy. Oh, and I must not forget the fondue. Jennifer’s easy and so delicious cheese fondue was an amazing starter (2 bricks of cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan, 3/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp garlic, 3/4 cup milk). I’m still not a big fan of the green bean bake though, so I’m changing that up next year for sure.

It must be the week of youtube.  Ben’s guitar instructor, Myron LeRoy, who has a very creative sense of humor, has posted a new “Christmas Classic.” Myron’s recently gotten into animating songs through the help of a friend, and his latest features Eddie the Elf going a little nuts with a Nerf gun on Christmas Eve.  It’s not Silent Night, but it just might rival Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer.

If you are an Oregon Duck fan,  you’ve got to check this youtube video out!  I love my DUCKS, I love my Ducks, I love my Ducks….

No, I don’t mean that it’s time to “stuff your turkey.”  I do mean that it’s time to get those black oil sunflower seeds and suet out in your feeders for our native and wild bird friends. The birds are hungry!

Tip #1: Suet is a decent buy at Al’s for $1.99, but the best deal I’ve seen on the black oil sunflower seeds is the bulk food section at Winco.  They had thistle and some squirrel munchies as well.

Tip #2: The Farmington Gardens November newsletter provides a quick run down on how to plant for and feed our wild and native birds.

Holy moly.  The Christmas bug has finally bit and bit me hard this week. I think it started with stuffed animal shopping for an Emmanuel Children’s Hospital drive.  Later that day I signed up for the Give ‘N Gobble and loaded up a bag of canned food for that drive. And, then today, I went on the Thanksgiving Day feast shopping trip. I was actually giddy as I pushed that 22 pound turkey around the store. Yay!!!

Nothing says “thanks” like “giving” to those less fortunate.  The Sherwood Give N’ Gobble Run/Walk and food drive is still taking online registrations for its annual event.  All proceeds benefit the local food banks.  I just finished signing up the whole family, and I’ve bid on a few items in their eBay auction.  The Give N’ Gobble is a “healthy” way to celebrate Thanksgiving in more ways than one.

OK. So some famous people truly deserve to be famous. Bono is the best example of that. He’s larger than life and treats that power with responsibility without being boring or overly preachy.  Brian and I are currently enjoying the youtube footage of U2’s recent live global webcast concert at the Rose Bowl. Some of the songs give me chills every time I hear them. You can listen and watch individual songs on youtube.  I also love  Bono’s very poignant opinion piece in the New York Times. He is inspirational, insightful and just freakin’ awesome. And, if you want to get active, try visiting ONE and see what inspires you.

Some of you are probably wondering why I keep writing articles and sending you to www.ehow.com.  It’s no secret that I’m a journalist by trade and I love to write. By using some of that energy to place articles on eHow, I can potentially make a little money doing it. It’s an experiment for now. So far, I’m just having fun with it. No major mogul dollars coming in 🙂  But, if my blog readers start visiting my articles, leaving comments and rating them (hopefully with 5 stars!) then who knows what will happen.  I’ll be sure to let you know.  So follow the links when it suits you and I’d love see/hear what you think. Or, if you have any article idea, let me know that too. Or, if you decide to write something, let me know and I’ll go take a look.

Many have asked and now I’m sharing my famous artichoke dip with the masses. Enjoy!