Personality Profile

Go to website. Pick a picture in each catagory and get your personality profile.

http://dna.imagini.net/friends/

Check it out!

Thanks Carrie for passing this along.

Episcopalians

We make fun of Episcopalians for their blandness, their excessive
calm, their fear of giving offense, their lack of speed and also
for their secret fondness for macaroni and cheese. But nobody
sings like them. If you were to ask an audience in Des Moines, a
relatively Episcopalianless place, to sing along on the chorus
of "Michael, Row the Boat Ashore," they will look daggers at you
as if you had asked them to strip to their underwear. But if you
do this among Episcopalians, they'd smile and row that boat ashore,
and up on the beach....and down the road!

Many Episcopalians are bred from childhood to sing in four-part
harmony, a talent that comes from sitting on the lap of someone
singing alto or tenor or bass and hearing the harmonic intervals by
putting their little heads against that person's rib cage. It's
natural for Episcopalians to sing in harmony. We are too modest to
be soloists, too worldly to sing in unison. When you're singing
in the key of C and you slide into the A7th and D7th chords, all
two hundred of you, it's an emotionally fulfilling moment. By our
joining in harmony, we somehow promise that we will not forsake each
other.

I do believe this, people: Episcopalians, who love to sing in four-part
harmony are the sort of people you could call up when you're in deep
distress. If you are dying, they will comfort you. If you are lonely,
they'll talk to you. And if you are hungry, they'll give you tuna
salad!

Episcopalians believe in prayer, but would practically die if asked to
pray out loud. Episcopalians like to sing, except when confronted
with a new hymn or a hymn with more than four stanzas.

Episcopalians believe their rectors will visit them in the hospital,
even if they don't notify them that they are there.

Episcopalians usually follow the official liturgy and will feel it is
their way of suffering for their sins.

Episcopalians believe in miracles and even expect miracles, especially
during their stewardship visitation programs or when passing the
plate.

Episcopalians feel that applauding for their children's choirs will not
make the kids too proud and conceited.

Episcopalians think that the Bible forbids them from crossing the aisle
while passing the peace.

Episcopalians drink coffee as if it were the Third Sacrament.

Episcopalians feel guilty for not staying to clean up after their own
wedding reception in the Fellowship Hall.

Episcopalians are willing to pay up to one dollar for a meal at church.

Episcopalians still serve Jell-O in the proper liturgical color of the
season and Episcopalians believe that it is OK to poke fun at
themselves, and never take themselves too seriously.

And finally, you know you are a Episcopalian when:

-It's 100 degrees, with 90% humidity, and you still have coffee after
the service.

-You hear something really funny during the sermon and smile as
loudly as you can.

- Donuts are a line item in the church budget, just like coffee.

- When you watch a Star Wars movie and they say, "May the Force be
With you," you respond, “and also with you."

And lastly, it takes ten minutes to say good-bye.

Bradford Dov Lewis, a friend of Barbara and Q's from NYC, sent this along and says it's by Garrison Keillor

Unique and Useful Tips

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a non-stick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Expanding Frosting
When you buy a container of cake frosting from the store, whip it with your mixer for a few minutes. You can double it in size. You get to frost more cake/cupcakes with the same amount. You also eat less sugar/calories per serving.

Reheating Refrigerated Bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper Weeds Away
Start putting in your plants; work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a dry cotton ball to pick up little broken glass pieces of glass- the fibers catch ones you can't see!

No More Mosquitoes
Place a dryer sheet in your pocket. It will keep the mosquitoes away.

Squirrels Away!
To keep squirrels from eating your plants sprinkle your plants with cayenne pepper. The cayenne pepper doesn't hurt the plant and the squirrels won't come near it.

Flexible Vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum. It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and - voila - static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill it with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don't dry the cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening Envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Voila! It unseals easily.

Conditioner to Shave Legs
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It's a lot cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It's also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn't like when you tried it in your hair...

Goodbye Fruit Flies
To get rid of pesky fruit flies, take a small glass fill it 1/2" with Apple Cider Vinegar and 2 drops of dishwashing liquid, mix well. You will find those flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it "home," & can't digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, esp. if it rains, but it works & you don't have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

Take Baby Powder to the Beach
Keep a small bottle of baby powder in your beach bag. When your ready to leave the beach sprinkle yourself and kids with the powder and the sand will slide right off your skin.

These were sent along from my brother, John, by way of his friend Addy.

The Boomer Century: 1946-2046

"This is a two-hour documentary that looks to the baby boomers’ past for clues to how this generation of 78 million Americans will shape the future. Hosted by gerontologist and psychologist Dr. Ken Dychtwald, the program focuses on the boomers’ formative years to reveal the personality traits of a generation that has since rewritten the rules for work, marriage and parenthood, and is now redefining retirement and aging. The final question the program poses, is what kind of future will the baby boomers lead and leave for succeeding generations?"

"Produced by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Joel Westbrook and Neil Steinberg and written by two-time Academy Award winner Mark Harris, the program “attempts to show viewers what really makes this generation tick and how its unique personality will help determine how boomers will shape society over the coming decades,” says Dychtwald."

This is to air on PBS this Wednesday at 9PM but check your local PBS station at: http://www.pbs.org/

Check Out the 10 Things You May Not Know About Baby Boomers Today
http://www.pbs.org/boomercentury/tenthings.html

Thanks to my brother John, for noticing this and sending it along.

A David Moment - Saying Goodbye

My in-laws have not been fairing too well health wise as of late. So they have not been over for Saturday visits to see David. In fact the last time my mother-in-law came over she took a small fall at the doorway as Maggie rushed to greet her, put a cut in her leg, and Paul had to take her to a walk-in medicenter for stitches as the emergency room at the local hospital was overcrowded. Then sometime after that she got sick, had pneumonia, was in the hospital, and then home recovering. My father-in-law had in an infection in his leg with swelling and he spent time in and out of the hospital too. All this brings me to the "David Moment". Last week Paul took David to see his parents. When it was time to leave Paul reminded David to be careful as he said goodbye. (David is know for giving very hard hugs!) So as they headed to the door David went over to his Grandma and gently tapped her on the shoulder and then turned to his Grandfather and did the same. Just his way of saying bye, love and hugs....

Copyright © 2007 Deborah Sharp Loeb

Money-Saving Recipes

Dear Debbie,

This is not my own idea. I read it in an Australian 'grass roots' magazine years ago and found it very handy especially back when we had a house full of children. The contributor was from a dairy farm and suggested using cream instead of butter in baking. Of course, she was using up a surplus of it but for us nowadays, cream is often available very cheaply when it's close to its used by date. It's not so suitable for a Flyaway Sponge, but the great if you want to feed the hungry hoards with good healthy real food. ( God wouldn't have given us cows if he didn't want us to have butter and cream! )

To make cakes, replace the weight of butter with the same volume of cream. I used to multiply a recipe and use the whole 500 ml. The mixture would fill the roasting pan. You may get the chance to freeze some for later. I often used one of the all-in-together cake recipes because, unlike butter, the cream is already 'creamed'. This a good opportunity to throw in those over ripe bananas you have saved in their skins in the freezer. ( Peel them first, of course.) Bananas are sweet so you can reduce the amount of sugar in the recipe. Ring the changes with spices, dried fruit, cocoa and nuts. A friend told me that her mother used to add some jam to the cake mixture to add interest if she didn't have anything else.

Another suggestion was to add mustard to warmed cream to make Mustard Sauce and so on.

With butter, 500 gm is close enough to a pound, so work from there. (By the way, what does a stick of butter weigh? We are familiar with the term from the little girl going shopping on 'Sesame Street' but nobody ever says in a recipe how much one weighs. Likewise, 'half and half'. Half and half what?)

For people who don't have an electric mixer, using cream instead of butter saves a lot of elbow grease.

Best wishes,

Mary Round
Burnett Heads
Australia 4670

In answer your question about half and half. From the food Network: It is a mixture of equal parts milk and cream, and is 10 to 12 percent milk fat. Neither half-and-half nor light cream can be whipped. (It is sold here usually by the quart or pint, or it is given in little containers for your coffee.)
Substitution: CREAM, HALF-AND-HALF 1 cup = 1 1/2 Tbsp butter plus enough whole milk to equal 1 cup OR 1/2 cup light cream plus 1/2 cup whole milk
Butter is sold by the pound, 4 sticks, so that would be 4 ounces as a pound is 16 ounces.

Dish Out of Nothing

Hi,

Not a dish out of nothing, exactly, but an attitude my kids started.

About once a week, I take all the drabs and bits of leftovers out of the fridge and set them out for dinner. There might be some refried beans, a bit of beef stew, some ends of garlic bread, oddments of cooked vegetables, perhaps half a cheese sandwich.
Where my husband and I see leftover leftovers, so to speak, my children see a feast. That's what they've called it, since they were little: a feast! They love seeing so many different foods on the table. It doesn't matter to them that they're leftovers, or that there isn't much of each one, or that the foods don't necessarily go well together. They see abundance where we find food that others might throw away, or at least view as something far less than a meal.

Many thanks for sharing your thoughts with so many.

Anne

Great idea and a wonderful attitude of your kids Anne. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Marrowbone Recipe

Dear Ms. Debbie,

Here is another recipe with marrowbone,made from something, because the marrow is good for one's immune system.

Heat up the marrow bones and drain liquid marrow into old bread, crumbled up, or fresh bread toasted and crumbled up. Old bread crumbs can be added as well. Add a beaten egg or two and season with parsley, oregno, or with your favorite herbs. Knead thoroughly,than roll in your hands into little balls and put in any kind of beef-base soup for slight boiling. Perfect for freezing to have handy to enhance any kind of beef soup.

Fondly,

Marlena Relyea
Your Sister-in-Christ

Magic Soup

This is similar, but I take 8 pounds of shanks, beef, veal, or combo, (when they're on sale - when did bones get to be so expensive?) put them in a big Dutch oven w/ veggies, carrots, onions, celery are a must, (just wash and chop, don't peel, limp are fine too) and roast at 400 over an hour, til all looks dark and dangerous. Then add 6 qt. of water, plus bay leaves, S&P, whatever and simmer covered for hours. Cool, then refrigerate, then throw out every smidgen of that awful fat on top. Melt a stick of butter and saute a bunch of scallions, some mushrooms, and then put in juice of one lemon and put stock back in, reseason. By stopping at the pure broth, you can put in a pump-top thermos and take to the hospital for someone on a liquid diet and they will call your name blessed for replacing what the hospitals call broth - hot water over a brown salt cube.
A British friend calls it Beef Tea, but I call it Magic Soup.
I've taken this to sick people for years. Some died anyway, but it was the last thing that tasted good.
Barbara Allen

Poor Man's Soup

2 or 3 ham hocks
head of cabbage
leftovers of a celery bunch (leaves, etc) washed
chopped carrots and/or parsnips
misc. vegies - nearly anything can go in
1 clove garlic, minced very fine
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
*optional - cooked rice - the leftovers from Chinese takeout can be frozen to use for this and myriad other dishes

1. Place hocks in a dutch oven or similar sized pan. Cover ham hocks with water and add bay leaf, garlic, celery, carrots/parsnips, etc. Add water to top of dutch oven. Bring to boil, then simmer for 4 - 6 hours
2. Strain through a fine sieve or colander and return broth to pan. Chop cabbage to bite sized pieces and add any vegies you want, and rice if you have it. Heat on medium until cabbage is transparent and other vegies are soft but not falling apart.
3. Serve with a good bread - rye is particularly nice.

Sarah Nelson
Phoenix, AZ

Recall on Cat and Dog Foods

To find the lists of cat and dog foods that have recently been recalled, and it's quite an extensive list, go to:
http://www.menufoods.com/recall/

The Ultimate Pet Nutrition Guide:
http://w1.mslat.net/prod/883232c7-420f-4495-b32c-f648a3dc9a46/5467288c-3630-472d-a2c8-ba51482132ec

Barley Casserole

Place 1 cup dry (regular, not instant) barley in a greased 2 qt casserole. Add 1 cup chicken broth. Put in 1 can (16 oz) any kind (stewed, diced, whole, etc.) tomatoes. Then top with any vegetables you have on hand...onions, carrots, celery, any bits and pieces. Add some frozen limas, etc. if you have them. Fill up casserole and add herbs, salt, pepper, to taste. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour or so until liquid is mostly absorbed. Just before serving, remove foil and top with generous quantity of grated cheese (Cheddar or Mozzarella) plus a dusting of Parmesan if desired. Return to oven until cheese is melted.

Sent in by a reader.

Ex Nihilo*

Not exactly ex nihilo but here are 2 recipes from
my cousin and my mother and father. - JOHN LEECH
* "out of nothing"

Crunchy Granola (Carolyn Rees, Christmas 1970)

1 C. honey, 3/4 C. oil - mix in large pan; heat

Mix together:
5 C. rolled oats
1 C. each:
rye flakes
wheat germ
shredded coconut (unsweetened)
sesame seeds (1/2 C.)
sunflower seeds

Add to taste:
Toasted, baked coconut
Slice almonds
Orange zest
Cinnamon

Add to hot oil and honey and mix together thoroughly. Put pan in oven and
toast at 300F or 325F for 10 or 15 minutes, turning frequently. It will get
crunchy as it cools.
I usually make a half recipe as it takes a large shallow pan.


Enchilada Casserole Pie (serves 4-6)
Sara Scofield Leech (& Paul H. Leech)

Bowls (3)
Casserole dish (round or oval)

1 doz. corn tortillas (large)
1 lb. ground beef, browned in skillet then set aside in bowl #1
1+ diced onions - set aside in bowl #2
1+ lb. shredded or sliced cheddar cheese - set aside in bowl #3
Las Palmas Enchilada Sauce - 1 med in skillet or more
8 oz. tomato auce
oregano
cumin
1 lg. handful dried parsley flakes
basil
etc.

Warm enchilada sauce to bubble, lower heat.
Spread 1 spoonful in bottom of casserole.

Dip 1st tortilla in sauce (soak), lay into bottom of casserole, layer with
some cheese, beef, onion, and 1 spoonful of sauce; meanwhile immerse 2nd
tortilla in sauce.
Repeat same routine until done.

As sauce simmers, keep adding bits of water.

Place extra cheese on top.
Bake until cheese melted, about 30 minutes or less.
Don't make too juicy so result isn't mushy.
Hot sauce on the side.

Making Something Out of Nothing

Hi Debbie -
LOVE the Hodgepodge!!

Here's my something out of nothing staples!

1. old brown bananas! - make the best banana bread - of course.

2. left over spaghetti with the sauce already mixed in - 2 pads of butter in a pan, sautee 1 or 2 cloves minced garlic, toss in the cold spaghetti and add about 1/2 cup water. serve hot! Yum-a-lum!

3. old tub of horseradish cheddar cheese spread, 1/2 leftover salsa jar, place in Microwave safe bowl and heat slightly, stir well and serve with corn chips. Good!

4. freeze stale bread, make bread crumbs in Blender for Meatloaf - Rye is extra good for this too!

5. left over oatmeal, freeze, use for thickening soups or stews.

I guess that's all for now!
Enjoy,
Barbara Hersey

and George Lindsay, Jr. says: Add to your list French Toast. In French, this dish is called pain retrouvé -- literally, "re-found bread." Need I say more.....

French Toast Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2003
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Toast Modern

1 cup half-and-half
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons honey, warmed in microwave for 20 seconds
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 (1/2-inch) slices day-old or stale country loaf, brioche or challah bread
4 tablespoons butter

In medium size mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, honey, and salt. You may do this the night before. When ready to cook, pour custard mixture into a pie pan and set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Dip bread into mixture, allow to soak for 30 seconds on each side, and then remove to a cooling rack that is sitting in a sheet pan, and allow to sit for 1 to 2 minutes.

Over medium-low heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a 10-inch nonstick saute pan. Place 2 slices of bread at a time into the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove from pan and place on rack in oven for 5 minutes. Repeat with all 8 slices. Serve immediately with maple syrup, whipped cream or fruit.

If you've never watched "Good Eats", Alton Brown likes to try to find the ultimate recipe for a dish as well as investigating and explaining the science behind food/dishes. Always clever and fun to watch that Alton Brown!

Bread Pudding

Read Barbara's eMo for today, MARYBONE. Reader Danielle Juzan has sent in the following recipe. Thanks for the recipe and the story!

You'll probably get a dozen bread pudding recipes, but this is my favorite, from Alzina Pierce of the Bon Ton in New Orleans (reprinted in the redoubtable "La Bonne Cuisine," a community cookbook published by the ladies at All Saints, River Ridge). You have to make sure all the bread has soaked up egg or else there will be hard pieces in the pudding. I keep adding milk until it's wet enough.

Bread Pudding

1 loaf French bread
1 quart milk
3 eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tbs vanilla
3 tbs butter
1 cup raisins

Soak bread in milk; crush with hands until well mixed. Then add rest of ingredients except butter and stir well. Melt butter in bottom of thick pan,and bake till very firm. [350 for an hour or so] Let cool, then cube pudding and put in individual dessert dish; when ready to serve, add sauce and heat under broiler. Serve with Whiskey Sauce.

[this is where the recipe is no longer thrifty]

Whiskey Sauce

1 stick of butter
1 cup sugar - cream with butter
1 egg

Cook sugar and butter in double boiler till very hot and well dissolved. Then add well beaten egg and whip real fast so egg doesn't curdle. Let cool and add whiskey to taste.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

New Orleanians also use stale bread to make French toast, which as the tourists are told was quaintly called "Pain Perdu" or "Lost Bread" since the bread would otherwise be lost.

And everybody in the South grew up eating cold leftover grits sliced and fried in grease, long before anybody ever heard of polenta. One of my favorite memories is sitting in Emeril Lagasse's Nola restaurant, back when it was new and he was only a rising star. It was the first weekend of Jazz Fest, and the place was full of nothing but tourists. We could hear the pretty young waitress going from table to table repeating her spiel of the days' specials, which included shrimp in some kind of sauce served over grits. Over and over, the girl repeated earnestly, "...served over grits. They're kind of like polenta."

The SmartSpot

This is a new campaign by Pepsico products and a way to help get your kids to make healthier choices.
Items that meet nutrition criteria based on guidelines of the FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) and the National Academy of Sciences have this Smart Spot Logo. You'll find it on on more than 100 products including the following brands:

Baked! Lays®
Life® Cereal
Gatorade® Thirst Quencher
Quaker® Oatmeal
Diet Pepsi® Cola
Quaker Chewy® Granola Bars

From the website:
"Who knew 5 letters could get you started on the path to a healthier lifestyle? It’s all about achieving balance, with smarter food choices and a little more exercise. These are five simple steps you and your family can start right away, every day."

Start with a healthy breakfast
Move more
Add more fruits, veggies & whole grains
Remember to Hydrate
Try lower calories or fat

To learn more about this go to: http://www.smartspot.com/about/

FirstBook.org

Did you know it's the 50th birthday for The Cat in the Hat? If you go to the link below for the First Book website, color, and send a card to the Cat, Random House Books will donate one book to First Books. Now it looks as though they have already reached the 1 million limit but you can still send one and see where your state is in the rankings!
All Birthday Cards received by May 1, 2007 will be tallied by state and posted on www.catinthehat.com on or around May 15, 2007.
So....it's still worth it to get the word out about this great organization.

http://www.firstbook.org/site/c.lwKYJ8NVJvF/b.674095/k.CC09/Home.htm

Be sure to have the kids visit the "Playground" there and try out the activities.
Also click on "Donate Now" and "Get Involved" to learn more. For only $2.50 you can get a needy child their very own brand new first book.

Thanks Don for passing this along.

You Go Girls!

I just read Barbara’s eMo (http://www.geraniumfarm.org/dailyemo.cfm) from today (The One You Feed) and the report from the recent meeting of AWE (Anglican Women's Empowerment) at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Leave it to these women to put aside any differences, know what the bottom line is, what needs to be done, lead the way, and move forward to do it!

More Dryer Safety

Here's some more dryer safety hints from: www.repairclinic.com
It's a website for appliance parts, repair help, and more.

Dryer Beware!
"If you don't clean out the lint trap frequently, your dryer may suffer from small internal lint fires. The smell from these fires can leave a strong odor in the clothes drum, which can make your clothes stink when they come out of the dryer. And, if there are any solvents, paints, lacquers, etc. in use in the home, your dryer may alter or amplify the fumes to an odor unlike the natural fumes given off by these liquids."
"You can solve these problems by cleaning all the lint from the inside cabinet and duct work of the dryer. If you charred lint or suspect you've had a lint fire, have a qualified appliance repair technician inspect the dryer for damage. Also, don't run the dryer when using flammable liquids in the home and move all containers of flammable liquids at least 50 feet away from the dryer. Gas dryers have a large flame when operating and can ignite the fumes of any flammable liquid or gas. Next, try to clear the odor in the dryer by running a load or two of old towels or rags which have been run through the washing machine. After that, you should be back in business - ready to complete your laundry odor-free."

The List

Check out the "Louie List" as I call it, or "365+ Reasons for Becoming an Anglican/Episcopalian, or At Least for Checking Us Out" as he calls it.

Louie Crew says, "The Episcopal Church is a secret too well kept. Many are starved for what we experience daily and too easily take for granted. Invite others to come to your parish to experience this joy. In thinking of your 'reasons,' try to focus on what draws you and others to this church. Enjoy the exercise! Tell others about it and encourage them to submit."

This is an on-going project, and he wants your entries sent to him at: lcrew@andromeda.rutgers.edu.

Morehouse has published his 101 Reasons to be an Episcopalian ISBN 0-8192-1925-8 (pbk.) -- all items from this site. All profits from the book will go to Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD).

The most popular entry:
"God loves you, and there is not a thing you can do to change that!"
By The Rev. Tom VanCulin, Honolulu

Go to this link and enjoy reading the list and don't forget to send him your own!

http://newark.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/365plus.html

"My Life as a Child" - TLC Series

20 American children between the ages of 7 and 11 were given digital cameras and the opportunity to film their own lives over the course of several months.Each episode inter-cuts the stories of three to four children from different backgrounds,with a snapshot of American life through their eyes.
Filming themselves at home, in school, and on vacation they show different aspects of their lives. With their narration in which they talked to the camera, we hear about their thoughts and feelings tackling difficult issues such as absent parents, divorce, racism and religious beliefs. They offer their thoughts on the complexities of life, meaning of success, and the role of gender. By sharing their favorite games, they also remind viewers of what it means to be a child. You see their imagination and hear their dreams for the future.

For more about the show go to:
http://tlc.discovery.com/tv/specials/my-life-child/about.html

Time: 7pm/6central Monday nights
or check your local listings on
The Learning Channel

Episode Descriptions

February 26 - Hopes and Hurdles
Three children who have high hopes for their lives also face huge obstacles: Joshua, Cole and Marc.

March 5 - Family Affair
Three children from non-traditional families examine how they feel about parents, siblings, childhood and other issues relating to their particular family structures: Quentin, Madison and Lisetanne.

March 12 - American Dream
The stories of three children whose families' stories exemplify the American Dream: Jacob, Tina and Elif.

March 19 - Different From You
Four children who are distinctly different from their peers struggle with their identities as well as the teasing of other children: Miashanti, Forrest, Skye and Max.

March 26 - Privilege and Prodigy
This episode puts forth three exceptionally talented children as they go about pursuing their dreams: Adora, Drew and Ashley.

April 2 - Little Women
Four little girls discover who they are as they experience new beginnings in their lives: Estefania, Mia, Rebecca and Rio.

"Planet Earth" Series

If you missed the announcement and preview of this new series on Oprah you'll want to mark your calendar and set your recording devices so you'll be sure not to miss it. The first of this 11 part series airs Sunday, March 25th at 8pm on the Discovery Channel and continues on successive Sundays, ending on Earth Day. It was 5 years in the making and covers the 7 continents. To get a sneak peak go to:

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/planet-earth/planet-earth.html

Here you can view the trailer for the show. If you scroll over the environment shown with your arrow you'll reveal special hidden content. You can change the region by clicking on the arrow at the right of the picture to see and learn more.

Beef Roll-Ups (or what to do with left over stuffing)

1 1/2 pounds of thinly sliced round steak (1/4" thick)
You can pound it more if need be. (also know as Braciola)
2 tbs. oil
small chopped onion
1 can of Campbell's Golden Mushroom Soup
1/3 cup water or more depending on amount of gravy you want
(You could add baby carrots and/or pieces of potatoes.)

Place some stuffing in the center of the piece of the meat. Tuck in the ends and fasten with toothpicks or tie together with cotton culinary string. Brown both sides in oil with the onion. Pour off excess fat. Add soup and water. Cover and simmer, cooking an hour or so until meat is tender. You can thicken the gravy at the end of cooking if needed.