Cookie Swap Party

IT'S TIME TO THROW A

COOKIE SWAP PARTY

Tis the Season to Start Cookie Swapping!

What is a cookie swap?

It is a fun way to get together with friends and neighbors during the busy holiday season while reducing the amount of baking you need to do for upcoming holiday parties.

How it works

Each guest bakes their favorite festive cookie, enough for everyone at the party. Everyone swaps cookies and goes home with a variety of tasty holiday treats!

Gathering the crowd

Send invitations to as many people as you can comfortably accommodate. You need enough people to have a nice assortment of cookies and 8-12 is a good size crowd. Based on your group's preferences, ask each person to bring 2-4 dozen cookies. When your guests RSVP, be sure to ask them what kind of cookies they are bringing so you can guarantee an assortment of treats.

Timing

To ensure a good turn-out, ask your guests what dates work best before sending out invitations. A Saturday or Sunday afternoon may be the most convenient. Try to holed the Cookie Swap early in the holiday season so that everyone can make use of the cookies by bringing them to holiday parties.

Setting the scene

Clear off a large space for everyone to display their cookies when they arrive (a dining room table or kitchen counter). Make a seasonal music mix ahead of time or set your CD player on shuffle and put your favorite CD's to work. Serve some warming extras, hot cider, cocoa or egg nog, to make your guests feel right at home.

Extra Sprinkles

Encourage your guests to bring 3" x 5" recipe cards with their favorite cookie recipe to swap with others. Give your guests a decorated index-card container to store their new recipes as a 'thank you' for coming.

Offer a prize for the 'most festive cookie' or 'best cookie display' and encourage guests to bake their best! Be sure to announce the contest on the invitation

Visit www.countryhome.com/cookieswap for more sweet treats perfect for swapping.

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CHRISTMAS EVE AT THE LODGE

TUCKED AWAY ON THE POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA IS A SLICE OF THE PAST - A 1917 HUNTING AND FISHING LODGE BUILT IN THE ARTS AND CRAFTS STYLE THAT IS NOW MANKA'S INVERNESS LODGE.

Here, guests are greeted with all the trappings: a blazing fire in every hearth, cozy leather chairs, and vintage fishing gear. For many visitors, a weekend at Manka's is the ultimate retreat, the kind of gift you'd like to give yourself. But during Christmas, it's the restaurant that shines.
The dishes served here are sophisticated, yet created from local, organic offerings. In fact, all of what chefs/owners Margaret Grade' and Daniel DeLong make is raised, foraged, and fished within 15 minutes of the inn. Manka's location, between the wilderness and the sea, provides a variety of fish and birds, rabbits, lamb, abalone, and oysters. The greens, fruits, and olives are grown near the lodge's property, and the restaurant hires foragers to gather wild mushrooms and buckets of huckleberries. But beyond the ingredient choices, it is also the quirky manner in which their selections are described that sets this restaurant apart. So while guests will not find "roast pork" on the menu, they will find "Parts of Dr. Pasternak's pig cooked around the clock.
The Manka's property includes eight guest rooms and two cabins nestled into a landscape of misty hills in the village above Inverness. Or guests can stay at water's edge of the blue Tomales Bay in a restored 1911 boathouse with quarters above. Each room is appointed with Margaret's impressive collection of camp antiques. Her maxing of timber-post beds and down comforters, roomy clawfoot tubs, and elegant French fixtures leads to a tactile experience that's both rustic and luxurious.
During the holidays, Margaret brings in touches of the outdoors with boughs of greens and clusters of pinecones. Wool from a nearby sheep farm makes for plenty of knitted stockings, caps, and coverlets to drape about the lodge. "Margaret has always had a hotel fetish, and I thing that comes through in her decorating," says co-manager Sally Dobbins. "She aspires to return the lodge to its former beauty, but she is also committed to outfitting it with fine modern amenities.

(HOW TO WELCOME HOLIDAY GUESTS, THE MANKA'S WAY)

Drape doorways, mantels, and rails with garlands. Hang a wreath over your bed and a branch bearing mistletoe in the bathroom for an unexpected touch. Display woven wool stockings, mittens, and hats on doorknobs and hooks. Stock your guest bath with fluffy white towels and woven straw slippers. Make your bed with layer of down, quilts, and throw. Pack a variety of snacks and leave them at your guest's door.

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The Heart of Christmas

Have you ever noticed that we spend most of the Christmas season searching - searching for the perfect gift,searching for bargains, searching for just the right decoration . . . around and around for a place to park?
It certainly gives a different spin to the biblical concept, "Seek and you will find"!
And what is it that we really want to find?
I think most of us are looking for that perfect Norman Rockwell Christmas, where we find the world-and our cranky relatives-perfect and peaceful and pain-free. But I'll let you in on a simple little secret that your heart suspects but your head is struggling to understand: No matter how special you want Christmas to be, something will always go wrong.

Prepare for Surprises

You can plan for the best, but it just doesn't happen: The gift you ordered doesn't arrive on time; your late-night Santa follows the directions and still can't get the bicycle put together; Grandma's fruitcake doesn't taste like fruit or cake. And I know, when Christmas doesn't meet your expectations, life gets messy.

That's why I want you to look at Christmas differently this year. This season is not about how your plans get messed up; rather it's about what God will do with your messy plans.

Three years ago, Kay and her husband Rick had some perfect plans for Christmas. As a pastor, it is Kay's husband, Rick's favorite time of year, but there was a dreaded diagnosis: breast cancer. Talk about having your plans messed up-Kay and Rick were forced to fall fully on their faith, trusting that God could bring good even out of the bad situations of life.

In the cancer ward of the hospital, there was a plaque with words that underscored Rick's faith in God. It read, "Cancer is so limited. It cannot cripple love. It cannot shatter hope. It cannot corrode faith. It cannot destroy peace. Cancer cannot kill friendships. It cannot suppress memories. It cannot silence courage. It cannot invade the soul. It cannot steal eternal life. And it cannot conquer the spirit." To that I would add, "It cannot defeat you if you trust Jesus Christ to work all things together for good in your life."

This Christmas you may feel discouraged. Or lonely. Or stressed out by too many plans or by plans that have fallen through. Perhaps this is your first Christmas after a bad divorce. Or a death. Or a disability. Maybe you're concerned or feeling hopeless about your finances or your future.

Answer to Your Search

What should you do? Do what the Wise Men did that very first Christmas: Seek God. Focus on Him. God promises in the Bible, "You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart."

What have you been seeking? Has it been happiness or fulfillment or peace of mind or love or a purpose to living? During Christmastime people have a tendency to turn up the volume on whatever is going on in their lives. But you can know, even if your holiday plans are messy, that God is working His plan in your life in ways you cannot even imagine: "No one has ever seen or heard or even imagined what wonderful things that God has ready for those who love Him."

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This Christmas Holiday

This Holiday give our forests a gift. Bring home a real tree. The fun of going into the crisp outdoors to find the perfect tree. The beauty of real branches opening to hold our favorite ornaments. The subtle scent of evergreen that says the holidays are here.

For generations, real Christmas trees have stood at the center of our most beautiful holiday traditions. But did you know that when you choose a real tree, you're also doing something beautiful for our forests?

Christmas trees are grown on managed forestland, most of which are family owned. In managed forests, a balance is carefully maintained between our need for wood and paper products and the needs of the forest environment to remain healthy and abundant.

That's why for every Christmas tree harvested in a managed forest, up to three more are planted each spring. And these millions of new trees help to keep the air and water clean, provide habitat for all kinds of wildlife and prevent soil erosion.

When the holiday are over, give your tree a new life.
Visit www.abundantforests.org to download ten environmentally positive things you can do with your Christmas tree after the holidays--from reusing the wood to making a wildlife feeding station. Each tip is easy and fun for families to do together. It's all part of Plant it Forward - things we can do today at home, at work and in our communities to help our forests remain abundant for the future.

What's your E-IQ? Find out at www.abundantforests.org

Were you surprised to learn that real Christmas trees are a good environmental choice? Take the E-IQ quiz and see how your environmental knowledge and practices stack up against the rest of America. It only takes a few minutes, gut it could help us all learn ways to Renew, Reuse and Respect a most remarkable, sustainable resource - our forests.
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211:THE NUMBER TO KNOW

You know to dial 911 for emergencies. And you know to call 411 to find a phone number or address. But do you know about 211, the service that was created for people in need o help fro a social service agency? You can find information and referrals on everything from crisis intervention and counseling to job training, education programs, and child or adult day care simply by dialing 211 anytime, day or night, says Kelly Levy, director of United Way of America's 2-1-1 project.

United Way of America and the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems have championed the 211 movement, which started in Atlanta in 1997. Today about 46 percent of the U.S. population has access to the free 211 service in parts or all of 32 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and some areas of Canada. Thirteen states have 100-percent access, while only certain counties do in others. Even those states with no 211 systems are in various planning stages for starting it.

Some of the biggest 211 success stories occurred last year in hurricane-ravaged Florida. One example: Lauren Baker, a Miami single mother of four, found herself without power, a refrigerator full of spoiled food, and a closet with water-soaked clothes. Her hours at work were cut because the storms slowed business, and she had no paycheck to cover her food, clothing, or rent. Baker called 211 and the call specialist hooked her up with the Red Cross, which provided food and clothing for her family.

So if your town or state doesn't have 211 service, what do you do? Call your congressional representative and your local elected officials and tell them you want it. United Way of America has a toll-free phone number, 888/727-7211, through which you can contact your congressional representatives. "For society, this is a better way of helping each other, " Levy says.

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Simple Seasonal Stress Stoppers

STRESS STOPPERS

• Instead of spending money on stuff your family doesn't need, consider a collective gift - a day of horseback riding, say, or a weekend trip. Or give each child the gift of time with a special one-on-one outing.
• Give parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles the same gift: a family photo book you design at http://www.kodakgallery.com/ or http://www.shutterfly.com/. It's highly personal and comes in different styles to fit every budget. You can personalize each book - by changing the dedication on the title page, for example - with a few mouse clicks.
• Set up a wrapping station on a folding table in the basement, so supplies are ready when you have a few moments to wrap. Or let your kids wrap gifts and send cards. Relatives will be charmed!
• Have your techie teen create an address database for your greeting-card list, then order stamps by phone )800-782-6724) or online (http://www.usps.com/). Create personalized photo cards at an online photo service such as http://www.kodak.gallery.com/ or http://www.shutterfly.com/ (they'll even mail them for you.) Even easier, send e-cards. You'll find a great selection at www.Hallmark.com , http://www.bluemountain.com/, http://www.americangreeting.com/ and http://www.daysprings.com/.
• Buy premade sough and spend more time on the fun part - decorating the cookies with your kids. Bonus: if they're less tasty than homemade, you'll be less likely to eat a dozen.
• Stop doing all the decorating yourself - make it a family affair. Play holiday music, serve up eggnog and cookies and get everyone involved.
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Taking the Car Keys

One day last winter, Charles Olsen, a physician in Escanaba, Michigan, was shoveling snow when an elderly neighbor backed out of her garage, scraped her car along a snow bank, crossed the street, and collided with his vehicle. "It was obvious she had no idea that my car was
there," Olsen says.

Worried that his neighbor's insurance premiums would skyrocket, Olsen didn't report the accident to the police. But he did giver her son a call. "It was an uncomfortable phone call," he says. "I hated to do it, but I told him that perhaps his mother shouldn't be on the road."

Whether the pronouncement comes from a neighbor, son, or daughter, or even a doctor, no senior likes to be told that he or she is a bad driver. Yet the day often comes when the parent who carpooled you to games and gave you driving lessons in the empty church parking lot just isn't the driver he once was Although no one likes to be the messenger, there are ways to help get you through that conversation, says Dr. Alice Pomidor, associate professor of geriatrics at Florida State University in Tallahassee. "Focus on your concern for their health and well-being," she says. "And be prepared to answer the question, 'If I don't drive, how am I going to get around?'" Here's more help:

• Suggest they give the car to a grandchild. "Giving the car away is a face saver," says Pomidor. They can tell their friends that their granddaughter needed the car.
• Talk to your parent from direct experience. Don't take your teenager's word that, "Grandma nearly got us killed today." Ride with your parent yourself.
• Have the conversation somewhere other than in the car. Bring up the subject later. Never crack a joke about their driving. Ask about friends who drive but who shouldn't be on the road. They'll often make the connection between these folks and themselves.
• If your parent becomes defensive and agitated, droop the conversation and bring ut up again a day or two later, after they've had a chance to cool off, or perhaps reconsider.
• Present alternatives to driving. Do your homework o volunteer drivers, van services, senior shuttles, taxis, and buses. Even in trural areas, there are always alternatives. "But be prepared to take up some of the slack yourself and drive your parent," says Pomidor.
• Make sure you are addressing the right parent. Sometimes the non-driving parent-often the wife-covers up for the spouse's deficits, or believes he is sage as long as she rides along. "She may have a lot invested in his driving," said Pomidor. "She may be the one you have to convince."
• Enroll your parent in a driving course and agree to abide by the decision of the driving instructor, says Karlend Ball, director ot the Center for Research on Applied Gerontology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
• If none ot this works, for safety's sake, you should refuse to let your children ride with them.

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Types of Identity Theft

Types of Identity Theft

Social Security Number

Your Social Security number is the most valuable piece of your personal financial information because it is your main identifying number for employment, tax reporting, and credit history tracking purposes. If your Social Security number falls in the hands of a thief, you could face serious problems as a result. A thief could use your Social Security number to obtain employment, open credit card accounts or obtain loans under your name. The best way to protect yourself is to guard your Social Security number and provide it to others only when absolutely necessary. Some businesses request your Social Security number for general record keeping. If they do, ask how your Social Security number will be used and whether you can use any other identifying number instead. If your Social Security number is stolen, applying for a new one may not solve your identity theft problem.

For example, a new Social Security number may not ensure a new credit record because credit bureaus may combine the credit records from your old Social Security number with your new one. Moreover, even when the old credit history is not associated with your new Social Security number, the absence of any credit history under your new Social Security number may make it more difficult to obtain credit.

Credit Cards

There are numerous ways in which an identity thief can make unauthorized charges on your existing credit card accounts, or open up new accounts under your name. An ordinary thief might steal your wallet or purse and try to make use of your stolen cards and checks. The more sophisticated thief can fill out a change of address form from the post office to get all your bills sent to another address. He or she can also call your credit card issuer and, pretending to be you, change the mailing address on your credit card accounts. The impostor then runs up charges on your account. Since your bills are being sent to a new address, you may not immediately realize the problem. An identity thief might also open new accounts under your name by stealing and completing a pre-approved credit card offer sent to you in the mail, using your name, date of birth and Social Security number, but a different address, on the application form. If this occurs, you may not discover that a new account has been opened under your name until the unpaid bills appear on your credit report.

Identity thieves can also obtain your credit card information from purchases you make at stores, over the telephone or online. For example, the credit card information you provide in person or over the telephone during a purchase can be improperly used to make unauthorized charges on your account. In addition, thieves can obtain your credit card number and other personal information through fraudulent or unsecured Web sites. No matter how professional looking the Web site, check the company's reliability with the Better Business Bureau before doing business with it, review the Web site's security policy, and be sure to use a secure browser if you are providing credit card information online. In the address window of your browser, check to see that the first part of the company's Web address changes from "http://" to "https://;" and also check the lower corner of the Web page to see whether a lock or key symbol appears, signifying security. Using a secure browser helps to ensure the safety of your personal data when it is being transmitted to a company?s computers. Before making online purchases, check the Web site?s user agreement and privacy policy to find out how the company uses your credit card and other personal information. The user agreement and privacy policy will inform you whether the information you provide is stored in the company?s database and whether you can opt out of being added to the company?s mailing list or having the company share your personal information with a third party. Privacy Seal programs, such as the Better Business Bureau?s BBBOnline program, provide seals for Web sites that have met certain standards for protecting the privacy of the consumer information that they collect.

Check Fraud

Identity thieves can drain your checking account by stealing your checks or your checking account number from your home or office and forging your signature, or by making counterfeit checks in your name, using a home computer. Some thieves even use cleaning solvent to remove what is already written on a check, making it payable to themselves. If your checks have been stolen or misused, immediately notify your bank, place a stop payment order, and close your checking account. Be aware that identity thieves can also open checking accounts in your name using personal information such as your Social Security number. When they write bad checks on that account, those debts appear on your credit report.

Cellular Telephone Service Identity thieves can establish new cellular telephone service in your name or make unauthorized calls that seem to come from, and are billed to, your cellular phone. Others make unauthorized charges by using your calling card and PIN. If this occurs, contact your service provider to close your existing account, and establish another one with a new PIN.
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The Billionare Software Engineer

Seattle, WA, the billionaire software engineer set to become the next space tourist said he's been interested in space since his boyhood behind the Iron Curtain.
Charles Simonyi, 58, left Hungary at 17, roughly a decade after the launch of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. He came to the United States to study engineering and computer science and went on to help develop two of the world's most popular software applications, Microsoft Corp.'s Word and Excel
Simonyi is paying Space Adventures Ltd. of Vienna, VA., $20 million to $25 million to take him to the International Space Station in March aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, the company said. He would be the fifth person the company has taken to space.
"Dr. Simonyi has been successful in a much larger way on Earth than we've been in space," said Eric Anderson, the company's president and chief executive.
Simonyi worked for Xerox Corp. in California for eight years before moving in 1981 to Microsoft, which he left to found Intentional Software Corp. in 2002 in nearby Bellevue.
He said he felt like he was making a contribution to the future of civilian space flight, helping with space research and encouraging kids to get interested in science.
His own interest in space as a child helped him learn English-some of his first words were "propellant" and "nozzle" - his knowledge of space trivia led to victory at age 13 in a junior astronaut contest. The prize was a trip to Moscow and a chance to meet one of the first cosmonauts, Pavel Popovich.
Although he will be helping with science experiments and some menial tasks during the eight-day trip, Simonyi said he will be spending a lot of time just hanging out, observing, taking pictures and looking out the window.
Simonyi will be blogging on a Web site designed to appeal to younger space enthusiast and adults interested in space travel.
"I want to share all that I learn with everybody, especially with kids," he said.
Simony's friend and former colleague, Microsoft c0-founder Paul Allen, is making his own contributions to space tourism by investing in research to build civilian spacecraft.
"He's very happy. He was one of the first people I told about my decision," Simonyi said.
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