The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, December 13, 2017 D-1 HOME LIFE TO ADVERTISE: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Visit: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Deadline: 5 p.m. on Monday Katiedid vs... by Katiedid Langrock That Christmas cheer SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Give us a call— 812-354-8500 Youth First Today by Callie Sanders, Youth First, Inc. Is your mind full? Try mindfulness 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom, 1280 sq. ft. FLOOR PLAN Setup & Delivery Included! $ 69,900 If Santa were to make homes, he'd make this one! 814 Niblack Blvd., Vincennes, IN 1-800-743-7004 www.bairdvincennes.com MINT CHOCOLATE PUDDING FUDGE By Monica Sinclair It's just a couple of more weeks until Christmas and you may not have all of your shopping done yet. If you are on a budget, how about making your gifts? This week, I am including an incredibly easy and fairly inexpensive recipe that will make the perfect gift for your family and friends. In addition, you can make a few memories by including your whole family in putting these gifts together. Enjoy! INGREDIENTS 2 pkg. (4 oz. each) BAKER'S Semi- Sweet Chocolate, di- vided 1/2 cup butter or mar- garine, divided 1/2 cup water 1 tsp. peppermint ex- tract 1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL - O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding 3 cups powdered sugar 2/3 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmal- lows 1/3 cup finely crushed starlight mints DIRECTIONS 1. Line 8 -inch square pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides. 2. Microwave 4 oz. chocolate, 6 Tbsp. butter and wa- ter in large microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. 3. Add peppermint extract and dry pudding mix; stir 2 min. 4. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, stirring each addition until well blended. 5. Pour into prepared pan; press into even layer with back of spatula. 6. Microwave remaining butter and chocolate in large microwaveable bowl 1-1/2 min. or until but- ter is melted; stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is well blended. 7. Pour over fudge layer in pan; spread to complete- ly cover bottom layer. Top with remaining ingre- dients. Refrigerate 2 hours or until firm. Use foil handles to remove fudge from pan before cutting to serve. Source: kraft.com Share your favorite recipe! www.facebook.com/mealsinminutes Monica's Meals in Minutes PO Box 68, Petersburg, IN 47567 mealsinminutes@pressdispatch.net FACEBOOK MAIL EMAIL MEALS IN Monica's MINUTES With the demands of 21st century life – work, parenting, endless emails, texts, social media, etc. – people wear overstimulation like a badge of honor. There seems to be a kind of confu- sion in our culture where people feel the need to be anxious and always "on the go" to be effective. I'm just as guilty. With that being said, we find our- selves in a mindfulness revolution. It's prominent everywhere. From hospitals to corporations, 33 percent of Amer- icans said they had used alternative health practices, including meditation (National Institutes of Health). Mindfulness practice embraces the beauty of monotasking. The way I de- scribe mindfulness to the students I work with is simply "paying attention on purpose." By incorporating mindfulness prac- tice at my schools this year, the stu- dents that are willing to give it a try leave my office feeling less stressed. Most ask to repeat the practice dur- ing additional visits. Let's face it, kids are stressed out too. There aren't any prizes handed out for being the greatest at mindfulness. It is about connecting to our experienc- es in a different way and giving our- selves a chance to pay attention in the present without adding more stuff to our plate. If you've used phrases like, "My mind just works too fast" or "I've tried it and failed," or my favorite, "I don't have time for that," you're exactly the kind of person that needs mindfulness most. Mindfulness is a lifelong jour- ney, not an all-or-nothing mentality, and it's free. According to a study conducted in 2013 by the University of Southern Cal- ifornia, most Americans spend 13-plus hours a day consumed by media. No wonder everyone is stressed out. I was skeptical when the term mind- fulness was first introduced to me. But when I decided to give it a chance, I was surprised how simple it was and what I felt. Practicing mindfulness can happen anywhere. I like to practice in my veg- etable garden or out in my yard. When I take a second to sniff a fresh toma- to after I pull it off the vine or listen to the birds singing in the background, I feel better. For just that one second I was pres- ent; I noticed nature. What a powerful feeling! I encourage you to try this with your family at home. A fter you take a second for yourself and enjoy nature, be grateful. Lastly, I want to leave you with some tips for your workday, especially in the afternoon when the "two o'clock yawns" kick in. When you can take a break, don't go straight to your phone for at least one of the breaks. A 2014 study found that being able to see a cellphone hin- ders the ability to focus on tough tasks. If you can, go for a short walk and try not to ruminate on work. I realize this can be difficult, but don't be afraid to give it a try. Ignoring your phone is a great way to practice mindfulness dur- ing the walk. Also, do someone a favor. Not only does this help you connect to others, it aids in recovering from stress. Most importantly, start small. Re- member, no rewards are given for be- ing the best at mindfulness. I encour- age you to put your phone down dur- ing dinner this evening and engage in conversation. You will feel better be- ing present. This column is contributed by Callie Sanders, LSW, school social worker for Youth First, Inc., a local nonprofit ded- icated to strengthening youth and fam- ilies. Youth First provides 39 Master's level social workers to 57 schools in 7 southwestern Indiana counties. Over 60,000 youth and families per year are served by Youth First's school social work and afterschool programs that prevent substance abuse, promote healthy behav- iors, and maximize student success. One of my favorite lines in the film "Love Actually" comes when Emma Thomp- son's character's children re- turn from school and tell her the roles they were given in the school play. Her daugh- ter proudly announces that she was awarded the role of first lobster, to which Em- ma Thompson's character replies, "There was more than one lobster present at the birth of Jesus? " The daughter responds, "Duh." Last night, my family and I attended the Christmas parade that marched mer- rily and vibrantly through downtown. And not only did our parade have second lob- sters but we had a swarm of them — many of whom were playing the sousa- phone. There were floats fea- turing rock-'n'-roll singers belting out tunes while pre- tending to wipe their bums in hyper-voltage outhous- es. There were Muppets and mermaids and dancing candy cane jellyfish. And of course, we saw a fair num- ber of Christmas trees. Chil- dren zigzagged through the crowd standing on the side- walk along the parade path, handing out candy canes to children younger than they. My children squealed, high on our shoulders, high on sugar, waving all the high- er at the passing firetrucks and Christmas clowns and, naturally, camels dressed as stegosauruses wearing San- ta hats. But we almost missed all of it. Icy rain was falling as I picked up the kids from school and day care later than usual because of sud- den work deadlines. They were cranky in the car. I asked them how their school days were. In unison, I heard "bad! " Righto. I blasted the Christmas tunes. The baby cried loud- er: "No, Mama. No singing. Bad singing." I changed the conversation to the Christ- mas parade. We still wanted to go, right? Isn't this going to be fun? My kindergarten- er gave a halfhearted "yeah." My baby said, "Mama! No singing! Never singing! " I called my husband and asked him to meet us down- town. He was worried about parking, so he requested that we drive all the way back to the house to pick him up before returning to town for the parade. Righto. Christmas cheer pumping through my blood, I turned the car around. My husband slid into the car with a loud sigh. Work had pummeled him, the same way it had me, the way it had the kids. As we drove back toward town, the soundtrack of Ru- dolph's bout of bullying in the background, my hus- band turned to the tired kids and asked, "How are you all? " The baby screamed, "Ma- ma bad singing! " I wasn't even singing! We hit traffic and road- blocks. The kids were cold. They were hot. They wanted to go home. And then they didn't. They were hungry. They were full. And when we finally looped the neigh- borhood streets for the bil- lionth time and found a park- ing space, they demanded to know why I had parked so far away. My cheer snapped like a candy cane. "Because I like trudg- ing through freezing rain. I think it's a jolly good time. Ho-ho-ho! " They looked at me, all three of them, unsure of whether I was kidding or not. I opened the car door. "Now we are going to go out there and we are going to have some flipping fun. We are going to be full of flip- ping cheer. We'll be flipping festive. And we are all going to be exceedingly merry and bright. Do you hear me?! " What is it about breaking Mom that puts everyone in good holiday spirits? By the time we walked past a traf- fic gridlock argument that was about to turn into a fist- fight, the kids were practi- cally skipping. My son waved at the man scream- ing from his car and said, "Merry Christmas." He did not respond. I reckon that's a good thing. We found a spot to stand by the front of the parade. The kids insisted on sit- ting on our shoulders as we waved to friends who were inexplicably dressed as Christmas pirates and the ghosts of snowmen presid- ing over the manger. An elf kicked off the parade, and my children squealed. It was a Christmas miracle. A miracle that promptly ended when it was time to walk back to the car. The kids decided their legs had fallen asleep and they were too hot and too cold and too hungry and too full. But still, they were happy to have at- tended. So was I. And in case you were wondering whether there was more than one camel dressed as a stegosaurus at the birth of Jesus... Duh. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at http://www.face- book.com/katiedidhumor.