Wild Woman Triathlon

The Second Annual Wild Woman Triathlon is going to be so Fun!

Date: Friday August 19th  
Time: 6-9 pm
Location: Lake Elmo State Park


This is free fun! Let's all gather some friends and come enjoy this non-competitive triathlon. It is free and we can each do as much or as little as we choose. If you want complete information, you can search on Facebook, but here is a short run-down on the events:


Lake Elmo Swim:  We will stay close to the shore line, starting at the east side of the lake and swim to the docks by the Fish and Game building. Boats will be by the swimmers for any needing assistance. Feel free to bring floatees or a kickboards--anything you wish to assist you. 


Bike Ride: Bring any bike you have--it does not have to be anything special. We will cross Main Street and go onto the bike path for a 10 mile ride--there will be a water station at the five mile mark, so that you can be refreshed and then ride the five miles back. If you choose to just do a portion of this distance, that is just fine.


Run or Walk: This will consist of a three mile run/walk around Lake Elmo. 

I think as we participate in this activity, we will make some very fun memories and individual achievement goals could be improved upon year by year!

The two wonderful sisters organizing this event are Brenda Snizek and Ranee Berg. If you have questions, you can call  Brenda at : 256-5476   or Ranee at: 896-8471


Let's DO it!
 

Mini Meat Loaves in Onion Gravy

I love to watch the cooking channel and I get inspired to "spin off" my own versions of their recipes, so I do not have to run to the store. I made these last week and it was a great meal.

                                          Mini Meat Loaves in Onion Gravy

Mix:
    #1 ground beef
      6 oz. sausage (I used Italian sausage)
Soak 2/3 cup oatmeal in 2/3 milk for 10 minutes
Mix oatmeal mixture into meat mixture and form into oval shapes like a mini meatloaf. I made mine about the size of a large hamburger patty. Cook these in a small amount of oil, making sure to get some good browned color on each side. ( I didn't use any other seasoning)

Gravy:
   Slice 2 onions rather thinly and saute in olive oil and a little butter on moderately low heat until  caramelized. Add salt and pepper as desired. Sprinkle with 2-3 Tb. flour, stirring it in.  Add 2 cups chicken or beef stock. Cook until it thickens, then add the mini meat loaves and simmer gently for just a few minutes.

This was such a great meal. The cook on the TV show was Rachel Ray and she said it tastes like you're having french onion soup with a fantastic meat loaf. It is easy to make and oh, so tasty!

Shepherd Ward's "Eight Cow Woman" RS Meeting

Shepherd Ward presented a wonderful theme last week for their Relief Society Meeting. The theme was based on the story of Mahana(sp?) "Eight Cow Woman". Seriously this was so fun and uplifting!

 For treats, they served Cow Pies--which were actually very good no bake cookies--and some awesome Coconut Macaroons.

 LeeAnn Foggin and Kelly Sessions presented many great ideas on living within our means, and being happy while doing it.

 Anita Cook and Jessica Oliver presented cheap date ideas and things to do as a family that were budget friendly.

 Ivey Peterson did a great presentation, making us all more aware of preparation for unexpected events. She reminded us to get a phone with a cord for communication during loss of electrical power.

 Dana Wittorf encouraged us to set goals and gave many good ideas on achieving the goals that we set. She has been a great example in this area.

 LeeAnn Foggin showed us this quilt which holds many memories. Her grandmother made this quilt from scraps of "this and that". The last presenter gave us the recipe for a hand scrub. We all tested it and it worked wonderfully. Here it is:
Mix two parts sugar--either granulated or brown sugar- with one part olive oil.
We used a teaspoon size of this mixture and rubbed it all over our hands--it sloughs off old skin cells and leaves your hands so soft. We then got a partner to massage lotion into each others hands, as she showed us the techniques. It felt wonderful.

What a great evening we shared with the sisters in the Shepherd Ward. They presented the theme  "Eight Cow Woman" with such fun and meaning combined.

Why didn't anyone ever tell me this? (Let's get prepared!)

We visited the Hawthorne Ward a few months ago and as I picked up a program, I noticed a handout listing useful websites for getting prepared for emergencies/ disasters. Listed below are links to six different websites with wonderful information. Please check out at least a few of them and start (or finish) getting prepared. You'll be glad you did!

    http://providentliving.org
    http://ready.gov
    http://www.fema.gov
    http://preparedness.ldswelfare.org
    http://livingprepared.blogspot.com
    http://www.redcross.org

The list was followed by this quote from Spencer W Kimball:
Let's do these things because they are right, because they are satisfying, and because we are obedient to the counsels of the Lord. In this spirit we will be prepared for most eventualities and the Lord will prosper and comfort us. It is true that difficult times will come--for the Lord has foretold them--But if we live wisely and providently, we will be a safe as in the palm of His hand.

Roundup Flood Relief

Today (Saturday, June 4) members of our stake went to Roundup to help with the flood clean-up effort.  They met at the church at 6 am.

Here are members, wearing the church's "Helping Hands" vests, in front of the Roundup Branch building.

This shows the main room inside our church, full of donated items. There were somewhere around 75 members of our stake working in Roundup, and another 25 people or so from other churches and the community at large.

The local hospital was giving free tetanus shots to anyone who needed them.  Unfortunately, there were a lot of exposed nails to poke yourself on.

Salt Lake sent up these white cleaning buckets--they think of everything! Inside these buckets are gloves, bleach, all-purpose cleaner, rags, and cleaning sponges.

As you can see, this is quite a messy job. Basements in Roundup were full to the ceiling with flood water, and main floors had another 3-4 feet of water in many areas.

Here is a typical house, being cleaned by workers. Workers cleaned out houses for anyone who needed help.

Everything has to be brought outside to be cleaned up and dried. 

Sheetrock was  pulled down to get rid of water-logged walls.

This is a sinkhole in someone's  yard.  Workers poured around 50 bags of sand into this hole and didn't even begin to fill it in.

This large semi is full of free drinking water for the people of Roundup.

The Catholic church in town set up this washing station with warm water so workers could clean up before eating lunch.

Meals are being cooked in the Catholic church for workers and members of Roundup community in need of food.

This is the Catholic church of Roundup.  They have invited members of the Roundup branch to come eat lunch with them tomorrow after church.

This is what Roundup looks like a week or so after the last rain. Billings got around 9+ inches over the month of May.  Roundup got 9 inches on ONE day, and 4 inches a few days later.

An apartment building ruined by the floods.

This is the inside of someone's house.  You can see how high the flood water was--all of the sheetrock had to be pulled off as high as the flood water hit.

This picture was taking near the river.  The river has been more or less dry for the last eight years.

You can see in this picture how a picnic table and other objects were pushed against a fence by flood water.

Notice how this street sign has grass and mud on the top were flood water reached.

These are the sister missionaries.  They and a group of workers found an elderly woman who had purchased this home two weeks before the flood. 

Her basement was filled, and her main floor was left with several inches of mud and silt.

Her home is a good example of the mess left by the flood.

President Checketts, President of the Roundup branch is second from the left.

Thank you to all who helped today, as well as all who offered to help.  We will continue to update you with opportunities for serving as they come up.