A Memorial Day Celebration

Memorial Day is usually the start of the picnic and outdoor grilling events of the year. While the stars and stripes are the theme for table decor and outdoor decorations, the food can complement any backyard or neighborhood event.

Burgers and hot dogs are a mainstay for the person in charge of the charcoal or gas grill, but chicken, steaks, and even fish are a very close second. Setting a bowl of fresh blueberries and luscious raspberries in the center of the table will put every-one in festive mode very quickly.

The table covering can be patriotic as well. Cover either your round or oblong table with white cloth or white paper from a roll. Buy red and blue ribbon in wide and narrow widths. Self-adhesive tape is available and makes your decorating simpler. Run a red ribbon down the center of your table and place two blue ribbons about an inch apart from the red ribbon on either side. Then at intervals go vertically with red and blue ribbons and you have a table covering that invites fun and festivities. Wrap your white plastic ware in blue or red paper napkins and tie with a contrasting ribbon (red ribbon with blue napkin, or blue ribbon with red napkin.

Proudly wave an American Flag at the entrance where guests arrive. You can visit your local American Legion office and make a donation and ask for some of the poppies they offer on this day. Then place one at the setting of each guest.

Dessert can be something as simple as a one-crust blueberry pie but with stars cut out from another crust and placed on top of your pie while it bakes. Any cheesecake topped with a mint leaf and either a strawberry or blueberry medley on top is a sure fire hit.

The most important part of this celebration is for everyone to simply stand up and salute all those from all the wars who have served -it only takes a minute but it sends gratitude waves to the army, navy, airforce and marine countrymen/countrywomen.

A nice touch indeed.
Something to think about
©Arleen M. Kaptur
May, 2008

Arleen M. Kaptur has written many books and articles on everyday living and finding peace and joy in all we do.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Arleen_Kaptur

Addicted To Funny Aprons

Funny aprons make all the difference when you are holding a barbecue or picnic. You can set an upbeat tone when you sport an apron with a wacky saying or humorous cartoon.

There are many great uses for funny aprons beyond just wearing them at home. Here are three favorite uses:

1. At An Office Barbecue Or Charity Event

If your office barbecue is going to be fairly small, having the cook or chef wear a funny apron can really lighten the mood. Work parties can be tough to lighten up sometimes, since usually everybody is so serious with focused all day. Even better than the chef wearing an apron, is having the Boss wear one. If you can get him to, that is! Having the Boss sporting a funny apron will let everybody know that it’s okay to laugh and have a good time!

2. For A Children’s Birthday Party

Children love to laugh and have a good time. If you are planning a party of any kind for kids, you will want them to feel at ease around adults. Short of wearing a clown costume, what other options do you have? Wear a funny apron! For kids, an apron with a cartoon on it is much more effective than one with a humorous saying. Getting kids to laugh at adults is a fun way to a rollicking party.

3. At A Halloween Or Costume Party

A lot of people don’t really enjoy shopping for Halloween costumes every year. Trying to find something new each year can become a chore that you dread. Just throwing on a funny apron and showing up can really get you out of a jam. Pick up one or two, keep them in your closet, and you will always have the perfect solution, even if a friend decides to have an impromptu costume party in the middle of the year.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Holly_Harris

Picnic Safety

It’s a lovely day and what better way to spend your time than loading up the car and setting off to the countryside for a family picnic.

In theory that’s a great idea, but in practice, there are many picnic safety elements to take into consideration to ensure your day is as enjoyable and trouble free as possible.

Listed below are a few picnic safety pointers.

• Before laying out the blanket and unpacking the food and drink, have a good look around the site you have chosen making sure there are no obvious problems on the ground and surrounding areas.
• Picnic safety affects everyone, and although the enjoyment of the picnic is intended for all family members, children have a tendency to stray off sometimes and do their own thing. Make sure to keep them involved with setting up your picnic and within close proximity for the duration of the day
• Be sensible with your choice of clothes for your picnic. Depending on the landscape of your site, you may need to wear clothes which will protect you from bramble bushes or bracken. If you are planning to stay out all day, take a warm top and a pair of jeans with you in case it comes in a bit chilly later.
• With picnic safety in mind, it makes sense to check in with the park ranger or station if you are picnicking in a supervised area. It is best to inform the ranger of your location so he will know where to find you should an emergency situation arise. If swimming is one of the activities you will partake in whilst on your picnic, the person in charge of the park will be able to tell you about safe bathing and likewise, which areas are off limits.
• Most of us love animals and you are likely to come across various species whilst picnicking. You should make sure your children are educated about proper behavior towards animals, both the wild ones and the ones which belong to other picnicking families. Once again, the park ranger will be able to advise you about type of animals you may encounter in the park.
• Keep an eye on the weather – you may need to pack away quickly if the rain decides to fall.
• Picnic safety is not just about location. You are going to be eating some delicious food throughout the day so you must ensure you always handle food hygienically and keep it chilled and out of the sun. If you do not do this, it can lead to stomach upsets or even worse, food poisoning. Have lots of water available to prevent dehydration.
• Take care of your skin, and especially the children’s skin when sitting in the sun for a long time. If you are not used to the rays, make sure you use a high protection sun screen and spell your time in the sun with time in the shade. Wearing a hat is always a good idea too! Just in case you get too much sun on your head, a hat will stop the dizziness and nausea.

So now you are aware of all the picnic safety tips, as long as you put the tips into practice, there is absolutely no reason why you should not have a fantastic day out with the family.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Roper

Nice to Meet Nice People

Some times you meet really nice people. This weekend I spent time with spectacular people. The couple who hosted work as academics at various universities. They, an international couple, she British and he American, have built the most beautiful place. And there they entertain so hospitably. The atmosphere does not make the evening memorable. The food neither, though it had all the incomparable attributes you associate with home cooked carefulness. The people made everything while the setting and fare added greatly.

We discussed the friendliness of Muslims to England historically. And Al, the father of the house, who boxed as a youth, needed a book for statistics of 19th century Indian demographics. I never doubted that he knew exactly where the book with that information sat. And mother’s questioning, direct and personal questioning. Prim and yet invasive relentlessly, the first night she interrogated author Glenn about his religion book especially and, later, my work, books her husband and even she had written and a book their son, and my friend, Adam plans to write: International high grade of people. Fun.

I play music with their son Adam. He makes films and presently occupies himself by getting ready to move to Brazil. He actually, believe it or not, has an operation on his thyroid on Monday WISH HIM LUCK!! And for his mother’s mother’s day weekend we played lots of music in the barn. Me, Steve, Adam, Tim, Justin, Ed and Sam before the day and nigh played out. But one moment that outshone them all was the arrival in the music space of Adam’s parents. They both danced and even sang a little bit.

At that very moment their grandchildren also played music in the room over the barn. Two on drums and little Ester singing “eight days a week” over and over. A little ham! And their parents who brought them were also just nice folks And it is a real joy to hang around with family such as that because they make one believe. They make one believe in what niceness our cultures can produce. And appreciate women to whom to say, Happy Mother’s Day!! It’s refreshing to meet such nice people.

John Press is the author of Culturism: A Word, A Value, Our Future. He is a an adjunct professor and doctoral student at New York University.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_K._Press

7 Reasons to Be Relieved on Mother’s Day

With a lot of bad press about teens beating each other up, getting pregnant at 15, going to rehab, or small kids being poisoned via lead from toys in China, moms need some good news on Mother’s Day. Here are 7 reasons to be RELIEVED if you are a parent in 2008. These 7 should calm your worries, and make you happy!

7 good news stories (for a change):

1) Domestic Violence has Plummeted to a 30-year low. Domestic violence against spouses and intimate partners in the U.S. fell by nearly two-thirds in recent years, reaching a 30-year low. Government figures show the marked declines began in 1994.

2) What Makes Teens Happy? Family Ties. “Spending time with family,” was the top answer to what makes teens happy, according to an extensive survey of people ages 13-24 conducted by The Associated Press and MTV on the nature of happiness among America’s young people.

3) Teen Pregnancy Rates are way Down. Since 1991, U.S. teenage pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates have all declined steadily in every age, racial and ethnic group, and in every state. And, they’re having less sex than their peers did 15 years ago.

4) Lower Lead Levels in Kids – Levels of lead have dropped dramatically. In 1976, 88.2 percent of U.S. children had elevated blood lead levels compared to 1.6 percent today.

5) Less Smoking, Alcohol, and Drug Use for Today’s Teens – Teen drug use has declined by 23 percent since 2001, with reductions in the use of nearly every drug, including alcohol and cigarettes — approximately 840,000 fewer youth using illicit drugs in 2006 than in 2001. High school students who had smoked one cigarette in their lifetime dropped to 54 percent, compared with 70 percent in 1991. The number of teens who had at least one alcoholic drink dropped from 81 percent in 1991 to 74 percent last year.

6) The number of moms breastfeeding is the highest it’s been in 20 years — giving more health benefits to the child, a closer bond for the mother, and a lot of savings for families on tight budgets. The Centers for Disease Control noted that it also conveyed health benefits to women, including decreased risk for the most common form of diabetes, ovarian cancer and breast cancer.

7) The Divorce Rate has hit a 37-Year Low. America’s per capita divorce rate has declined steadily since its peak in 1981, dropping by one-third to its lowest level since 1970.

With all those reasons to be happy, mothers ought to have a great Mother’s Day in 2008.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Geri_Weis-Corbley

Christmas Lights Design – Adding Twinkle

Have you grown tired of your steady-on Christmas lights?

Perhaps it’s time to add a little twinkle!

When designing your Christmas light display, there are several aspects of design to keep in mind as you make your lighting plans. Early in the process you’ll choose the style of lights you want to use based what you like – from traditional C7 and C9 Christmas light sets, to mini lights to the latest in LED lighting. Christmas light lovers have never had so many choices. Next you need to consider a color scheme.

The most popular color is transparent with multi, red, blue and and green not too far behind. New upward trends in purple, pink, and teal are making the lighting future very exciting.

So, you’ve selected the types of lighting you want to use, you’ve decided on color and now you wonder, “what about twinkling and movement in my lighting display?” or perhaps you are thinking,”how do I drive my neighbors crazy with twinkle lights”.

There are a wide variety of ways to add movement to your Holiday lighting. Let’s take a quick look at a few of them.

1. Turn your steady mini lights into twinkling lights. That little extra bulb with a red tip is a flasher bulb. It causes all the lights on the string to turn on and off simultaneously.

You don’t need more than one flasher per line but if you have a longer mini light set that is wired in sections, you can put a flasher in each section of bulbs.

2. Mini lights also come with built in controllers. These sets commonly have 140 lights and have multiple functions like chase, fade, slow fade, steady on and more. These light sets are like cayenne pepper and unless you are using them on your Christmas tree – that’s classic – you should be cautious not to overuse these spicy lights.

Unless, of course, you like a carnival atmosphere in your lawn. In which case, go for it. Remember, those neighbors?

3. C7 and C9 Christmas light sets can be set up with 2-3 lines offset by 50% or 30% of the spacing between the individual bulbs and connected to a multi channel controller that will cycle throught the 3 channels. This will give your lights a marquee effect. (This is also a good approach for outlining signs.)

4. Lastly, one of the nicest and most elegant ways to add twinkle to your lighting is to sprinkle in a few C7 or c9 twinkle lights into your transparent bulb display. Imagine a wonderful tree, full of clear C7 lights – and every so often, randomly placed through the tree, a very few twinkling lights.

Twinkle light bulbs start to flash as they heat up – with about a one second on and a one second off rhythm. If you use just the right amount of twinkle lights, viewers won’t necessarily see the twinkling action right away – they’ll just see that you have a magical tree or two in your yard.

Steady on, twinkling, flashing. There are different ways to personalize your Christmas light display with light movement. Just consider it another part of your total design.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shellie_Gardner

Happy Birthday

A birthday is a personal and special holiday. This event started to celebrate in Europe and spread by soldiers all over the world. It reminds that you are one year old now and also a little grief to loss one year of life. Good thing is that every one wishes the person who holds the birthday. You can wish happy birthday to your loved ones by sending gifts, greeting cards, flowers, and a so much more that show your love and care for them on their special day.

A birthday is a special day for everyone for being the part of this world and therefore lots of parties are thrown by friends including family members. There are lots of things included in a birthday party like to create a guest list, the planning and setup, generate an agenda of events. Triumphant birthday parties don’t just take place, they’re intended. Try to invite only those guests who have attachment with birthday boys or girls because this is their party. Different people have different choice to celebrate their birthdays so sit with who have birthday and set the theme of the party then start planning. You can make your birthday more remember able with birthday games, party crafts, party flavors etc. Just use your imaginations and create beautiful events for your some one special.

Birthday parties can be very eventful and lots of fun things can happen in such parties; you can hangout with friends all night for celebrations. Every one who lives in same town comes to wishes you, to be the part of your happy day and make your special day even more special. But some times some close friends and family members cannot join you because they are out of town but they still show their care and join you on your day by sending online birthday E-cards from different Greeting cards websites.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=J._Joey

Halloween Traditions

With the popularity of Halloween growing many families are starting their own holiday traditions. I wanted to share with you a tradition that one of my neighbors started in our neighborhood a few years ago that I’m sure has been around for years. It’s called “Ghosting” and believe me your children will have a blast doing it! It usually starts the first week in October giving plenty of time for the whole neighborhood to be “ghosted”. Depending on the size of your neighborhood you can either ghost one family or two. Since our neighborhood is small, I’m giving you directions for “ghosting” one house; however just double it if you live in a neighborhood with many homes.

Here’s what you do:

On a plain white piece of paper (8 ½” x 11″) draw a big outline of a ghost in black permanent marker. Then fill a goodie bag or brown paper sack with Halloween treats (candy, brownies, cookies, etc…). Print the following poem on a piece of paper and staple it to the picture of your ghost. Don’t put your name on anything because no one knows who ghosts who!

You’ve Been Ghosted!

Late last night, we left you a treat, the tradition is fun, one we hope you’ll repeat.

Take the ghost and pin it on your door, to let others know, you need ghosted no more.

Now it’s your duty to pass on the surprise, to another family, we must advise.

Gather some treats and deliver them soon, within two nights, under the light of the moon.

Include a ghost with each package you give, along with this poem for the tradition to live.

Deliver the treat bag, poem and ghost after dark to your target family by putting it on your neighbor’s porch, ringing the doorbell and running. Don’t get caught! Remember it’s a surprise and you don’t want them to know who “ghosted” them. Then they in return “ghost” another family and so on and so on and so on. Don’t be afraid to be the first person within your family, friends or neighbors to start a new yearly tradition. They have to get started somewhere right? Why not you? In five, ten, even twenty years down the road when you see someone you love passing down that same tradition to their loved ones it will all be worth it.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Bradford

Magical Kid Birthday Cakes

Just imagine

Your child’s birthday party is happening right now. Your home is full of kids, a few moms and dads and the sound of laughter and fun is everywhere.

Now its time for the birthday cake

You’ve put together a cake you’re proud of — one you hope your child really likes.

Nervously you pick up your masterpiece and move toward the table. As you place your cake in front of your birthday child, you notice that the sound of laughter and fun has been replaced by admiring oohs and aahs as your party guests get their first glimpse of your very special birthday treat.

Your child smiles down at their cake, then looks up at you, offering an excited thank you and “mom — it’s great.”

Now you’d love a reaction like that — wouldn’t you?

Of course you would.

Magical Kid Birthday Cakes

You can create magical birthday cakes by letting your imagination run wild. There really are no limits. Remember — it’s only pastry. If your creation falls apart or turns out looking more like a messy pile of frosted crumbs, don’t worry — just try again.

Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

You’ll find links to these kid birthday cakes and more by following the link you’ll discover at the end of this article.

• Caterpillar Cake
• Baseball Cake
• Peanut Free
• Princess Birthday cake
• Fun Skate Cake
• Butterfly
• Lady Bug
• Hot Dog and Fries Cake
• Bug Mountain
• Volcano Cake
• Lego Cake

If you’re not ready to create your cakes from scratch, you can still put together a birthday treat that will turn heads.

Pick up a frosted, ready made cake at your favorite bakery. Then decorate with toppers, edible cake art images and fun sugar shapes. You’ll be happy to learn that you can find these decorations to match just about any birthday theme. And once you’ve decorated your child’s special birthday treat, it will magically become a yummy looking, creative 3-D masterpiece.

When it comes to ideas for your child’s birthday cake, your imagination is the only limitation.

So once you and your child have decided on a party theme, start thinking about how you can create a special treat that will have everyone saying “ooh” and “aah.”

Now everyone will look forward to seeing your amazing, thoroughly enchanting and absolutely magical kid birthday cakes.

Have fun

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Dougherty