General

The Nature Conservancy Africa has an initiative right now to help save the Elephants. The #Elegram Project helps by raising money for each #Elegram that is uploaded. I made my Elegram using elephant shaped Gluten Free Graham Animal Crackers from Glutino. They are cute and taste good, but they can also help save their real life counterparts when I  upload my Elegram to the #Elegram Project.

Before I was asked to help promote this project, I thought that the elephants in Africa were doing just fine. I thought that the demand for ivory was long gone, and that the elephants just did elephant things all day and did not have any worries. But, here are some facts that I learned:

Poachers take advantage when elephants are not being effectively protected. From supplying cutting-edge technology to supporting community watch programs, The Nature Conservancy is helping train and equip wildlife rangers to do a better job across the millions of square miles of elephant habitat they patrol.

An elephant herd can travel up to 30 miles a day in search of food, often encountering dangerous situations. The Nature Conservancy works with partners to form community-run conservation areas and to implement creative solutions, such as building a highway underpass to reconnect a blocked migration path.

Most illegal ivory is sold in China, where the majority of consumers are unaware of its origins and the elephant poaching crisis. The Nature Conservancy is mobilizing some of the country’s most influential leaders to educate consumers, erode the prestige of ivory and clean up the online marketplace.

Illegal ivory fetches high prices on the black market, creating a strong temptation for people living in poverty. The Nature Conservancy works with partners to provide incentives to people living among elephants to help keep them safe, such as better livelihoods. This is absolutely key to the long-term survival of elephants.

I was so surprised to learn that these beautiful animals were still being poached for their ivory! And, knowing that, I wish there was more that I could do. Won’t you please help the Nature Conservancy help protect the Elephants by creating your own #Elegram, and uploading it to the #Elegram Project?

Did you know that Food Lion has a great recipe collection on their website? I just found out about it myself. I have already used several of the recipes I found there. The best part about the recipe feature at FoodLion.com is that  you can add your own recipes there, too! It’s a great way to save your own recipes right on the same website where you will be shopping for groceries. You can check out the specials each week, then look for recipes using the things that are on sale! How neat is that?

My mother used to make this easy salad all the time. It was one of my favorite things that she made. It doesn’t matter that it was such an easy thing to make, it was still good. I made it for my own kids when they were growing up, and I am sure they make it for their kids now. It is amazing to me how a quick, easy to prepare recipe can be filled with so much love and so many memories.

I added my Cheesey Pear Salad recipe to the Food Lion Recipe Portal. It was easy as one, two, three! You just enter the ingredients, one on each line provided. Then, you type in the directions or instructions on how to put your recipe together. Then, the website asks for a preparation time and a cook time. You add a picture of the finished dish, and tag the recipe with any of the choices they have listed, and submit. In a day or two,  your famous recipe will show up for everyone to share and make it for their own family! You can search for my recipe on the Food Lion site using tags I used when I create the recipe: gluten free, diabetic, low calorie, southern, salad. Or, look for recipes using pears.

If you’re looking for recipes to make for your family, you have so many different ways to search for them. You can search for pork, chicken, beef; search by occasion; search by course such as breakfast or appetizers; search by ingredients; or by region. I think it is just great that if you check the online sales flier and see that chicken breasts are on sale,  you can then search by chicken breast as the ingredient to find dozens of recipes to try. You can add ingredients you see in the recipe to  your shopping list so that when  you get ready to cook, you have everything on hand. I’ve been cooking for over 40 years, and still have times when I forget things at the store, so I think this is so cool!

Do you have recipes you want to share? Head on over and add them to the Food Lion Recipe Portal!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

In September when we went to Alabama for Fabgrandpa to have surgery on his nose, the dashboard indicator light came on for some weird thing that said “Service Traction Control”. Nothing happened to the car, which is a good thing, because we were barreling down I-20 towards Birmingham at a high rate of speed. The light went off when we stopped the first time. That was also good because we were in a hurry to get to the clinic.

A month or so later, it happened again.  And again, nothing happened, and the light went off. This has happened several times now. In addition to that, all of a sudden when we were going down the road a couple of months ago, something under the dash started thumping very loudly. Every time we touched any of the air conditioner controls, the car made that loud noise.

The noise starts when we get in the car, before we even insert the key in the ignition. It continues until we get started down the road. It is very annoying, and embarrassing when someone goes somewhere with us.

Last week, we got a letter from Chevrolet. It said:

“This letter is intended to make you aware that some 2010 model year Chevrolet Impala vehicles may have a broken solder connection within the accelerator pedal position (APP) sensor. This condition may result in reduced engine power and loss of traction control assist. All other accessories and vehicle systems will function normally. While the condition is present, the driver information center will display “Engine Power is Reduced,” and may also display “Service Traction Control” and “Service Stabilitrak”.

The letter went on to explain that “General Motors is providing owners with additional protection for the condition described above.” They are NOT calling it a recall. Hmmpf.

So, we made an appointment to take the car in and get the additional protection they are providing us. At the same time we are having them repair that thing under the dash that make the loud thumping noise. They have to keep the car overnight to complete these repairs, so we had to get a rental car from Enterprise. No, they no longer provide a loaner car when you get service done on your car.

The rental car was a bargain, though. The Chevrolet dealership has a deal with Enterprise, so that we can get the rental from them for $35 a night. Plus gas. No milage charge. What a deal.

Can you guess how much it is going to cost us to get rid of that loud thumping noise under the dash? Go on, take a guess!

In celebrating National Senior Health and Fitness Day, it is appropriate to talk about the need for nursing homes. BestNursingHomes.com is a website provided by the Association of Skilled Nursing Providers that can help you when that time comes.

“Mom just got a hip replacement. She has to be out of the hospital, but she’s
too sick to go home. What should we do?”

“Dad has dementia, and his health has declined to the point that it’s unsafe for him to be at home. Help!”

“I need somewhere to recover from heart surgery. I don’t want to be a burden
to my kids and wish there were somewhere I could go with advanced medical
care. Do I have any options?”

Sometimes you need medical care that can’t be taken care of at home … or in
a hospital. We all know that home health companies can come in and take
care of the basics. But if you need more advanced medical care, help is
available in what is called a “post-acute” care center, also known as a “nursing
home.”

Nursing homes have gotten a bad rap over the years. But what most people
don’t know is that there are really good ones out there—rehabilitative centers
that look and feel more like hotels than hospitals and give you more
personalized therapy and attention than if you were in a hospital.“Where can I find this heaven on earth?” You may ask.

Welcome to BestNursingHomes.com. This is an online site, provided free to the public by the Association of Skilled Nursing Providers, that lists five-star nursing homes and rehabilitation centers rated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

What’s different about this site than others?
1. BestNursingHomes.com lists ONLY the best sites. Anything on the list has
been preapproved by Medicare as one of the top in the country.

2. There’s no annoying sales center. Best Nursing Homes is run by a nonprofit organization whose public mission is to make people aware of the good places to go. It’s a free list.

3. You don’t have to enter any personal information. No one is going to  contact you when you search the site.

4. You can contact the nursing homes directly. If you see an option that you like, simply call the facility or send an email using the contact form.

5. You can see what the center looks like. For the facilities that have chosen upgraded listings, you can take a virtual tour of the building with slideshow photos and videos.

6. You can review what others’ experiences were like. Best Nursing Homes uses proprietary software to get real reviews from real residents and family members. And they’re authentic—there’s no gaming from competitors or advertisers.

Best Nursing Homes has been made possible by the generous donation of
North American Health Care and its CEO, John Sorensen. John has made it his life’s work to serve the elderly population and has sponsored the
development of BNH and donated it to the ASNP for use. “We are very
grateful for the leadership of John Sorensen in the post-acute care industry,”
said Amy Osmond Cook, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Association for
Skilled Nursing Providers. “John is a leader in his field, a generous
philanthropist, and a great example of someone who places serving the
patient above anything else. We are proud to be associated with John and
North American Health Care and grateful for his support to promote best
practices in skilled nursing.”

For more information about Best Nursing Homes or the Association of Skilled
Nursing Providers, please contact Dr. Cook at amyc@bestnursinghomes.com.

BestNursingHomes.com is run by the Association of Skilled Nursing Providers (ASNP) a non-profit organization dedicated to educating the public about skilled nursing care.