Calling all Boxes!

I know that there have been a lot of moves from our ward recently. But does anyone have boxes? If you do, give me a call...my number is in the ward list. Or you can just add a comment on this post and I will find a way to get hold of you. Thanks a bunch!!

Stef B.

Temple GNO: UPDATE

I am moving the date to Thursday July 9th since y'all probably need more time to prepare than 2 days! It seemed this week didn't work well for a lot of you too. So we will plan for next Thursday the 9th, 6 PM at my house, and we will carpool over for the 7PM session. Hope to see you all there!

Kristie L. (look me up for my address!)

Portfolio Request

I will be needing hair and face volunteers for my portfolio that I will be working on soon. I will give a large discount for those whom I will be doing color and/or cut on-and for those who will just get a style or updo I will do for very cheap or maybe for free (Depending on how much product is use). Let me know if you are interested, Email me hairiamabq@gmail.com If interested specific dates and times will be given out to you.

Thank you again-
Kim W.

Open for Business

I am currently open for business at Hair Addict Salon. I have a website that you can view here This site has information on services offered, pricing, location and promotions. I wish that it had a better eye catching appeal but it is what it is. Check it out!

Thank you!

Kim W.

Temple GNO??

Since it is so hard to get to the temple with our husbands, (or maybe that's just me!) I thought it would be nice to get a group of us together one evening and head to the temple sans husbands. I am thinking Tuesday the 30th we could go to the 7 PM session (the last one of the day). We could meet at my house at 6 PM, and carpool over. Then after we could go out for dessert or something! Let me know if you guys think this is a good idea, and I will make it concrete if I have interest. Thanks!

Kristie

Free Paint

Glidden is giving away a free quart of paint! Just go here and pick out the color you want and they will send you the quart.

FREE Online Photo Editing Class

Girls! This is so cool...

If you take digital photos (and who doesn't???) and/or digital scrapbook this is a great free class to give you some fun tips and tricks. It is put on by Jessica Sprague. She is a fantastic photographer and digital designer. Go here for more info...I just signed up. You must register by June 28th in order to get in on this free class. The class begins July 6th, but if you are not able to do it at that time (like me) the class will be available online, for FREE, forEVER!

BTW, you don't need to already have Photoshop or Photoshop Elements to sign up...they are providing a link where you can download a free trial version. Woohoo! I also have the super old, bare bones Photoshop Elements 2.0 if anyone wants to install it on their computer. It may be old, but it works for me!

Bunk Beds?

Has anyone had good luck finding decent bunk beds at stores here in ABQ? Craigslist is not serving me well to find wooden ones that are in good shape, so I thought I would price them at a store. Thanks! Angela

New Charter School

Camille forwarded this e-mail to me for the blog about a charter school her friend from Cabezon ward is starting:

Camille,
Here is the blog address for the Charter School we are starting: www.sandiaacademy.blogspot.com <http://www.sandiaacademy.blogspot.com> . I would love it if you could forward the information onto anyone you know in the area who might be interested in a school like this. After looking at the blog, if they are interested at all, please ask them to email the school at: sandiaacademy@gmail.com. That way we can send out updates (ie., when we nail down the address for the school, when we will start accepting applications, etc).
Thanks!
Mellani

So either contact Mellani through e-mail or give Camille a call if you have more questions or would like Mellani's phone number.

2 copies of Escape available

Fellow bookworms--

My sister and I have 2 copies of "Escape" available from the library for any of you responsible readers who would like to read them for the July16th meeting. If more than 2 people would like to borrow these I'll put your name on a list and we'll circulate them in order. Just call or email me if you want to read it.

FYI, the next 3 book club meetings will be at my house in the backyard under the gazebo.

Melissa

Awesome Preschool Option

Some of you are probably starting to think about preschool for the fall, so I thought I'd share this terrific option.

As some of you may know, my son Jacob attends an autism specific preschool at Petroglyph Elementary. There are six kids in his class, and he is the only one with a chromosomal disorder-- the others all fit somewhere on the autism spectrum. There are also six peer models-- typically developing children to demonstrate age-appropriate play and communication skills. Benjamin was one of these peer models last year, and had an AWESOME experience. I really felt like it helped prepare him for elementary school.

First of all, the preschool is at Petroglyph Elementary (right behind the post office on Paradise), so they have access to all elementary school benefits-- they have their own playground, they sometimes eat in the cafeteria, have sand tables, ball pits, a jumpoline, etc., etc. Last year the cost was only $100 per month (I don't know if that will change or not), but they had class every day M-F from 10:20-1:10. Each month there was a different field trip. The head teacher, Peggy, is AMAZING. She also has two assistants that are always in the class, and the speech, occupational, and physical therapists pop in and out.

As a peer model, Benjamin was assessed when he started so that they could find out where he stood academically and work to challenge him. At the end of the year we got a portfolio that showed us his assessments throught the year so we could see his progress.

I talked with Laurie M. about it, and she is going to be doing it this fall. There are 2 more peer model spots open for this next year. If those spots were taken by people in the ward, you could car pool! (Jacob will still be in the class next fall, too, but he will be riding the bus.)

Sorry for the lengthy post, but if you have a child between 3-5 years old and you are interested, give me a call or shoot me an email!

Galloping Grace's Horse Ranch

I had a blog about the Galloping Grace's Horse Ranch and several of you asked me how you can sign up. You can check them out at
We went twice last week and the kids loved it. It is completely free, they do accept donations. They don't make you feel like you owe then anything though. They run the Pumpkin Patch and Christmas Tree Farm on the corner of Paseo and Eagle Ranch as their two major fundraisers. They start at 3 years old. They allow you to come up to twice a month and schedule out about a month in advance. You can email them for an appt at trishkoester@ggyr.org. It is located off of Northern in Rio Rancho. First your kids will learn the safety rules. Then they will shovel manure- I am serious. My kids thought that was fun- I have weird kids, they also love to clean toilets. Then they brush, saddle, and walk the horse to the ring. They learn how to mount and ride. If they are confident enough and he thinks they're ready he'll actually unhook the lead rope and let them ride on their own. (He's just a few feet away.) It takes about an hour and a half. Max, the owner is the one who is teaching them and he is fantastic. Just a warning for the faint in heart- like me- last time we were there Max's son found a 4 ft long Bull snake right where we had just been. I realize that these are the "Good Snakes"- if there is such a thing. But it still frightened my a little. They embrace wildlife out there. His son wore it like a scarf the whole hour we were there and my kids really enjoyed touching it! My skin is crawling just thinking about it!

How should we choose, or Chelsey has fun creating a poll

Choosing a Book

Okay, so I have an idea for choosing a new book for our book club. Everybody who wants to should comment with a suggestion for a book they would like to see us read. If you have multiple books, make multiple comments. Then, depending on the number of suggested books, I will create a poll that we can vote on or use a random number generator to choose.

P.S. Please only suggest books you have personally read.

Book Club meetings

Next book club meeting: July 16th 7:30 PM
Location: TBD, led by Stephanie Burns
Book: Escape by Carolyn Jessop

Born into the Fundamentalist Church of the Latter Day Saints (FLDS),
the author describes her life before, during and after her marriage at
18 to a 50-year-old man with three other wives. This painful memoir
certainly doesn't bear much resemblance to the polygamous fantasies of
the HBO series Big Love. The author's large family lived in grinding
poverty, and Jessop was constantly subjected to humiliations at the
hands of her husband, Merril. But she had inner resources. In a
decidedly patriarchal culture, she often spoke her mind, and she
talked Merril into letting her go to college. Her occasional
questioning of his views, however, earned his suspicion and the
condescension and mistrust of her fellow wives. So what kept Jessop in
the community? Fear. From her earliest childhood, when she played a
game called "apocalypse," she had been taught that God punished those
who disobeyed his rules. Furthermore, she knew that no woman had ever
managed to get herself and her children safely away from the
community. Still, one night in 2003, Jessop snuck her eight children
out of the house and fled to Salt Lake City. There, she found little
in the way of support networks for women escaping polygamy. She was
told that "there would be more legal and financial help for me if I
were a refugee arriving from a foreign country." The chapters about
her struggles to adjust to this new life are more riveting than the
occasionally tedious descriptions of her earlier hardships. Especially
wrenching are scenes featuring the two of Jessop's children who felt
torn between their parents and resented their mother for taking them
away from the FLDS church. The book's final pages recount triumphs
large and small, from getting her first stylish haircut to standing up
to her husband in court.Though Jessop's circumstances were unusual—and
particularly harrowing—her memoir will appeal to many women who have
left abusive relationships


August 20th 7:30
Location: TBD, led by Chelsie Larson
Book: Guns, Germs & Steel by Jared Diamond (pending approval- no one
in the club has read it yet)

Jared Diamond (JD) has done extensive field work in New Guinea. His
indigenous New Guinean politician friend Yali asked why whites had
been so successful and arrived with so much "cargo" compared to the
locals. JD rephrases this question: why did white Eurasians dominate
over other cultures by means of superior guns, population-destroying
germs, steel, and food-producing capability ? JD's main thesis is
that this occurred not because of racial differences in intelligence,
etc. but rather because of environmental differences. He wishes to
play down Eurocentric thinking and racist explanations because they
are loathsome and wrong. Modern stone age peoples "are on the average
probably more intelligent, not less intelligent, than industrialized
peoples." New Guineans are "more intelligent, more alert, more
expressive, and more interested in things and people around them than
the average European or American is", traits which he attributes to
survival of the fittest. Proper analysis of the current standing of
various human societies must trace developments beginning before the
onset of historical record.

We're still looking for a book for September- do you have a
suggestion? Are you willing to lead a discussion and bring dessert?
Call or email Melissa if you're interested.

CVS! CVS! CVS!

If you have been obsessed with this whole couponing world like I am, then you know how exciting the new CVS pharmacy is going to be!!!! I was trying to see when the one on Coors and McMahon would open and I did a search and it said there is one on Tramway and Paseo! So I called to see if they were open, and.....YES! They opened last Sunday. They said the one on Coors opens this Sunday and there are two more opening in Albuquerque this summer. Yeehaw!!! Extra Care Bucks here I come! I am so excited. Here is the address of the one on Tramway:

7847 TRAMWAY BOULEVARD
ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87122
505-821-5422

Mo-Fr: 07:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Sa: 07:00 AM - 10:00 PM
Su: 07:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Free sand

We re-lanscaped our front yard a while ago, and sifted all the sand from the rocks. What we are left with is a couple of wheelbarrow's full of yard sand. It actually is quite nice-soft enough for sandboxes so if any of you want sand, let me know! We are actually leaving for the rest of the summer by next Wednesday, so we definitely want it gone by then. Oh! And you'd have to come haul it away, because there's no way I'm loading it my van 3 days before we go on a week long road trip! :) Thanks, Angela

Stake Enrichment this Saturday Morning

Don’t miss the Stake Enrichment meeting this Saturday morning from 9:30-11:45 AM at the Stake Center. We’ve got several ladies from our ward either teaching classes or creating displays and handouts. Lunch is included at the end of the meeting.

Classes are on: Spiritual Self-Reliance - Rebecca Pugmire, Learning has an Eternal Shelf Life - Dora Thomas, Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do or Do Without- Melissa Spencer

Displays and handouts include: Gardening Tips - Sylvia Whitaker, Substitutions & Frugal Cooking - Sandie Henrie, Unusual ideas for everyday things - Rachel Boyle, Practical Hands on Sewing & repairs - Melissa Spencer, Coupons - Kristie Lee

See you there!

Rug Doctor, Anyone?

I've rented a Rug Doctor from Smiths and will have it until tomorrow afternoon, but I plan on doing all my carpets tonight. If anyone would like to use it tomorrow, give me a call!

Free...

Amber is getting rid of an older girls bike (9-13 yrs old) in great condition and some firewood. The firewood is very thorny and should be handled by an adult. If you are interested, please pick it up today or at the very latest tomorrow. (They are moving Monday! )

Bunk Bed with Trundle Needed

Our Stake Relief Society President, Sister Brenda Hunter, is looking for a bunk bed with trundle bed (all together). She needs in ASAP so if you have one or know of one let me know and I'll get the word to her.

Thanks!

Cheap Strawberries!

You probably already know this, but strawberries are 88 cents this week at Sunflower Market and there is NO limit this time! I went a little crazy with the freezing and the jam and all that! YUMMMM

Free Shade Camisole

If anyone is interested in getting a free camisole from Shade (for anyone unfamiliar with Shade, their camisoles are wonderfully LONG!)and $10 off their next online purchase, all you have to do is register to get their weekly email. You do have to have an email address that they don't already have on file, but that's what husband's email addresses are for, right? If you are interested, email me and I will send you the invitation to get the deal!

how to remove?

Hi
I bought a shirt from the Children's Place and they didn't take off the tan magnetic thingy. Is there a way to remove it or do I have to go back to the mall to have them take it off?
Thanks.

Help! I need a dentist!!!

Friends, please help me find a dentist for my son. Jamison has broken his tooth for the third time and I need to try another dentist. Any suggestions??? Thanks Susan

Orange Rolls Recipe

I've had several requests for my grandma's orange roll recipe, so I thought I'd share it. They are really good!

Orange Rolls

1 can evaporated milk

½ cup water

5 T Vegetable oil

5 T sugar

2 t Salt

1 T gluten (optional but better with it)

2 T yeast dissolved in ½ cup lukewarm water

2 well beaten eggs

6-7 cups flour



Add ingredients in order listed above to electric mixer (like a Bosch)

Beat/knead very well. Mix for 3-5 minutes with only half of the flour. Add enough flour to make soft slightly sticky dough (stop adding flour way before dough leaves the sides of the bowl)

Cover with damp towel and let raise 2 hours. Roll out (I usually do half at a time) to about ½ inch thick and top with:

¾ cup sugar

½ cup melted butter

zest from 1 orange

Roll up and cut into 1 inch sections (like you would cinnamon rolls using dental floss. Cook in greased muffin tins . Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do!

Potluck!

Dora is putting together a goodbye potluck for those moving in our ward. It will be Saturday the 13th at 4 pm at the Ventana West park. Bring your family, something to share, and your own drinks. See you there!

For Sale

I have this nice shelf/mirror with hooks I'd like to sell for $10 if anyone is interested. Also, we have a laminate computer desk in our garage we'd like to sell for $5. Call me if you have any questions.

Jenni

Carpool to Utah - Split Gas Expense

Does anyone want to drive to/from Utah with me and my kids and then split the gas cost? I don't want to include any personal info on here so email for the dates/details.

I have room for 4 in my van. We have a DVD player for the kids to watch movies :)

Book Club meeting

Don’t forget about the book club meeting coming up on June 18^th at 7:30 PM at Melissa’s house. We’re reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. It’s a quick read so it’s not too late to read it if you’re wanting to come and discuss the book with us. Dress warm and bring a blanket- we’ll meet in the backyard under the gazebo and have a fire and s’mores to help keep us toasty. Below is a review of the book to help spark your interest.

Review of The Hunger Games by

peepsbookreview at Amazon.com

Reader Rating: 5 stars

Suspense lingers in the atmosphere of The Hunger Games. With its action-packed scenario, Suzanne Collin's tale will enrapture you from the start. This takes place in the ruins of North America called Panem. This country is divided into 14 sections- Districts 1 through 12 are literally slaves for the comfort of the inhabitants of the Capitol, each creating or mining a different item. The 13th one was destroyed to prove the Capitol's power, frightening the other districts into submission. Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist, is "the man of the house." Her father died, and her mother and sister, Primrose, are unable to fend for themselves. Therefore, she illegally hunts with Gale, her best friend and hunting partner, to feed her family. However, one fateful day, the seventy-fourth Hunger Games starts. The Hunger Games is when two tributes- one male and one female- are selected from each district to fight to the death in an arena, for the entertainment of Panem. Her sister is selected, but Katniss volunteers to go in her place. She and a boy and Peeta, the baker's son who she owes from her childhood, are selected. Can they survive this bloodbath and come out alive? Or will they succumb to the fighting and die alone? The Hunger Games is a fantastic read thanks to my preference in survival stories (I loved Hatchet), and the tinge of romance.

free lunch for kids

Every summer the city of Albuquerque offers free cold lunch in the Santa Fe Village Park (by the Taylor Ranch library) at 11:30am M-F. It started today and goes until sometime in July. It is only for children ages 1-18. Bring a blanket and wipes and get there early to get in line. It is first come first served.

Luncheon for Brittany!

Sarah P. is going to hold a luncheon for Brittany at her house (Sarah's) on Wednesday, June 3rd, at 11:30 AM. Brittany S. will be moving soon, and we will miss her and her family so much!! All are invited to attend-kids too!Please bring something to share if you have it. See you there!