<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearch/1.1/" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:00:03 +0000</lastBuildDate><category>Safety</category><category>Summer</category><category>Reading</category><category>Motherhood</category><category>calendar</category><category>education</category><category>fundraiser</category><category>Fashion and Beauty</category><category>babies</category><category>The Lighter Side</category><category>comedy</category><category>Parenting</category><category>Relationships: Family and Friends</category><category>thanksgiving</category><category>Non-Profit Organization</category><category>events</category><category>Young Reader's Club</category><category>Opinions</category><category>Grocery Shopping</category><category>Green Thumbs And Glue Guns</category><category>sleep</category><category>neighborhoods</category><category>Organization</category><category>family</category><category>Pre-school and School-Aged Children</category><category>National Auction</category><category>Premium Membership</category><category>Saving Money</category><category>Holidays</category><category>sponsors</category><category>Frugal Living</category><category>Homeschool</category><category>Health and Wellness</category><category>webinar</category><category>The Mommies Network</category><category>gratitude</category><category>Science</category><category>Business</category><category>friendship</category><category>howtobeadad.com</category><category>Pre-school (2-5 year olds)</category><category>Weigh-In Challenge</category><category>Learn About Us</category><category>Santa Letters</category><category>community outreach</category><category>Domestic Goddess</category><category>Veteran's Day</category><category>Mommies Talk</category><category>Recipes</category><category>Fall</category><category>National Forum</category><category>Books</category><title>HighCountryMommies</title><description>HighCountryMommies.com is a free community for moms in Ashe, Avery, and Watauga Counties, North Carolina. We realize that all moms need local support -- and who can't use another friend?</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>111</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/HighCountryMommies" /><feedburner:info uri="highcountrymommies" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><feedburner:browserFriendly></feedburner:browserFriendly><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-4475283334580186860</guid><pubDate>Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-22T08:00:03.882-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">fundraiser</category><title>Do You Have Flower Power?</title><description>&lt;a href="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2387/flowerpowersmallgraphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2387/flowerpowersmallgraphic.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;Are you looking for some curb appeal? Do you need to beautify your backyard? Spring planting season may be a few months away, but there's no  better time than now to grow with &lt;a href="http://www.highcountrymommies.com/"&gt;HighCountryMommies&lt;/a&gt;! We've partnered with  Flower Power to bring you a fabulous fundraiser to help you plan the  garden of your dreams.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Flower Power sells quality flower bulbs  with a 100 percent money-back guarantee. Gorgeous geraniums, tantalizing  tiger lilies, and beautiful begonias are just a few of the many bulbs  available and ready to be shipped to your door. This fundraiser runs  Jan. 22–March 20, 2012, and your bulbs will arrive in April and May,  just in time for beautiful summer blooms.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
So save some gas and the  trip to your local nursery or big-box store, and plan your perfect  garden from the comfort of your computer. Visit &lt;a href="http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240203/oq89R2Ljw8V5"&gt;http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/i/t/240203/oq89R2Ljw8V5&lt;/a&gt; to view the  enormous array of flower bulbs, and spring into Flower Power and HighCountryMommies' fabulous fundraiser!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Special bonus: Spend $40 or more to receive a free bag of 10 Twilight gladiolus, a $10 value.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Grow with us!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;Profits made through our fundraising link go toward our chapter's operating expenses.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-4475283334580186860?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/do-you-have-flower-power.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-4256139486973603016</guid><pubDate>Fri, 20 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-20T08:00:00.083-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">sponsors</category><title>Reminder: Ring in the New Year With TMN!</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s1600/forumad2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s1600/forumad2.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The New Year's parties may have ended, but our sponsorship promotion hasn't! We're still ringing in the New Year at The Mommies Network with an incredible deal that will have you reaching for your noisemakers.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Moms may have the greatest buying power, sharing business experiences and trends with one another. And since women make more than 80 percent of all purchasing decisions and control two thirds of the nation’s disposable income, targeting this group benefits your company. Resolve to reach this influenial portion of the population by taking advantage of this limited-time promotion.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
With all new/renewed sponsorship agreements, your business will receive a complimentary blog feature (advertorial to include logo/product image and 500 words). Prepaid agreements receive a 5 percent discount and a complimentary two months on one sponsorship listing. Sponsors also receive 20 percent off event sponsorships. Offer expires Jan. 31, 2012.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The end of the month is just around the corner, so what are you waiting for? Celebrate with TMN by taking advantage of this amazing deal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more details on how your business can ring in the New Year with moms across the nation, please contact Jessica Van Dyke at Jessica.VanDyke@TheMommiesNetwork.org.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-4256139486973603016?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/reminder-ring-in-new-year-with-tmn.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s72-c/forumad2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-7660134923899819944</guid><pubDate>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-16T08:00:10.222-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Weigh-In Challenge</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Health and Wellness</category><title>TMN Weigh-In Challenge News</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;
&lt;a href="http://74.220.207.199/%7Ecomplex7/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ballroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://74.220.207.199/%7Ecomplex7/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/ballroom.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
Hello, and Happy New Year to everyone!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
My name is Karen Skidmore, and I am the  owner of &lt;a href="http://www.completely-fit.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Completely Fit&lt;/a&gt;, a personal training and fitness company located  in Mount Airy, Md.  I am a team leader for one of the groups in The  Mommies Network Weigh-In Challenge.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All my team members have started off strong and are working very hard to accomplish their goals. They were asked to fill out a detailed questionnaire about  their current nutritional and fitness habits, and answer questions about  what changes they wanted to create. Based on that information, I have  helped each person come up with a detailed action plan that will not  only help to accomplish her goals, but more importantly, help to improve her lifestyle.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If you are looking to make a change in your life but  are not a part of the Weigh-In Challenge, you too can do it with just a  few small changes at a time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If your nutrition is off track, start by taking away one unhealthy food once a week and replacing it with a healthy food.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
If  your exercise routine is off track, start by finding something you  really enjoy doing — walking, biking, or swimming — and adding 10 minutes of  that exercise to your day.  Before you know it, exercise will have become  a daily routine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Be sure to track your results, as we do much better when we can see our progress.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I am very excited to be a part of this group and team, and I look forward to reporting our successes back to you each month.

&lt;i&gt;— Karen Skidmore, &lt;a href="http://www.completely-fit.com/" target="_blank"&gt;Completely Fit&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/i&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-7660134923899819944?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/tmn-weigh-in-challenge-news.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-6525122227916016078</guid><pubDate>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2012-01-08T10:53:01.531-08:00</atom:updated><title>The Family Organizer</title><description>I'm forever looking for ways to get better organized. It's even more of a challenge when you have a family to keep track of. The schedules, shopping lists, and tomorrow's to-do's are always being lost or shuffled from one place to another. I've put together a family organizer that helps me keep track of my family's activities from week to week. This organizer makes it easy to keep track of almost anything. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One day I was looking at the ready-made templates that came with my word processing program, and I noticed there were many home-related templates already made up for me to use for my organizer. There was a monthly calendar and a weekly menu planner and grocery shopping list. I made a calendar for every month of the year to write important dates to remember, and printed out enough weekly menu planners to last a&lt;br /&gt;month or two.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The weekly meal planner has columns for every day of the week with "Breakfast," "Lunch," and "Dinner" listed for each day. Every weekend you write in your meals for the week, and then make up a shopping list to take to the grocery store. The menu planner has a place at the bottom to write in your shopping list, or you could make up a separate list. Download a free menu planner template from http://www.creativehomemaking.com/download.shtml. Just print, and photocopy as needed for your organizer.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;The best way to organize your calendars and menu planners is in a three-ring binder. You can buy dividers that already have the months of the year printed on them. Just file your monthly calendars in the binder with your weekly menu planners in between. This is just the start. You can create sections in your binder for whatever you want. For instance, file your children's school or sports schedules in your organizer. Just punch holes in the pages and file them in the appropriate month. You could also include a list of phone numbers and addresses, or a list of family birthdays and anniversaries. You can buy folders for your binder that have pockets in them. Make one for greeting cards and one for coupons. How about one for your monthly bills? The possibilities are endless.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;One of the great things about the family organizer is that it keeps so many things handy and in a central location. Now if someone wants to know what's for dinner or has something to add to the grocery shopping list they can refer to the organizer themselves. We keep ours in the kitchen next to the microwave, where it's easily accessible. If you're afraid of pages getting messed up, sheet protectors work great. You can design a cover, too, and slip it into the front of the binder.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Family organizers are fun to make, relatively inexpensive, and limited only by your imagination. Start getting your family's schedules in order today!&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Rachel Paxton - rachel@creativehomemaking.com&lt;br /&gt;Originally posted on &lt;a href="http://www.charlottemommies.com/"&gt;CharlotteMommies&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-6525122227916016078?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2012/01/family-organizer.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-5828873030064464381</guid><pubDate>Fri, 23 Dec 2011 16:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-23T08:43:06.457-08:00</atom:updated><title>Happy Holidays!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siYiaEU5njc/TvSvZvP6s7I/AAAAAAAAAIY/WBcHtYGLD1Y/s1600/408822_331127173566568_150555121623775_1344407_1923112316_n.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siYiaEU5njc/TvSvZvP6s7I/AAAAAAAAAIY/WBcHtYGLD1Y/s400/408822_331127173566568_150555121623775_1344407_1923112316_n.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5689365085990597554" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Wishing you save travels and warm memories from HighCountryMommmies.com!&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-5828873030064464381?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/happy-holidays.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-siYiaEU5njc/TvSvZvP6s7I/AAAAAAAAAIY/WBcHtYGLD1Y/s72-c/408822_331127173566568_150555121623775_1344407_1923112316_n.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-2196816004229333648</guid><pubDate>Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-21T08:09:47.792-08:00</atom:updated><title>Wordless Wednesday</title><description>&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WQXmilsOXuw/TvIExXM56qI/AAAAAAAAAIM/8HEJpUXDFXI/s1600/IMG_2325.JPG"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WQXmilsOXuw/TvIExXM56qI/AAAAAAAAAIM/8HEJpUXDFXI/s400/IMG_2325.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5688614525410601634" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-2196816004229333648?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/wordless-wednesday.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WQXmilsOXuw/TvIExXM56qI/AAAAAAAAAIM/8HEJpUXDFXI/s72-c/IMG_2325.JPG" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-3334138576410085806</guid><pubDate>Tue, 13 Dec 2011 04:51:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-12T20:53:51.954-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">howtobeadad.com</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">sleep</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">babies</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">family</category><title>"Snow Angels"</title><description>&lt;a href="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/219691288042186355_8qbhyjP1_c.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 480px; height: 640px;" src="http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/upload/219691288042186355_8qbhyjP1_c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-3334138576410085806?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/snow-angels.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-2645399022520527146</guid><pubDate>Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-05T05:41:51.755-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">sponsors</category><title>Ring in the New Year with TMN!</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s1600/forumad2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s1600/forumad2.jpg" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: small;"&gt;Ring in the New Year by reaching moms across the nation!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Women make more than 80 percent of all purchasing decisions and control two thirds of the nation’s disposable income. And moms may have the greatest buying power. What mom doesn’t share the latest trends or personal experiences with a business that has provided products or services for her family or herself?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
To help you start the New Year with a bang, &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network&lt;/a&gt; is offering the following:&lt;br /&gt;
With all new/renewed sponsorship agreements, your business will receive a complimentary blog feature (advertorial to include logo/product image and 500 words). Prepaid agreements receive a 5 percent discount and a complimentary two months on one sponsorship listing. Sponsors also receive 20 percent off event sponsorships. Offer expires Jan. 31, 2012.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network&lt;/a&gt; can help your business reach moms across the nation or in your community. We are a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide a safe, secure, free place for mothers to find support and encouragement from other mothers and to empower them to be better women, parents, and community leaders. Through our online forums, our chapters connect local mothers, enabling them to ask questions, seek support, offer encouragement, find volunteer opportunities, and grow as leaders as they volunteer their time with our site. Our organization provides a valuable service to a portion of the population that is nearly always overlooked, overworked, and taken for granted: moms!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
For more details on how your business can ring in the New Year with moms across the nation, please contact Jessica Van Dyke at &lt;a href="mailto:Jessica.VanDyke@TheMommiesNetwork.org"&gt;Jessica.VanDyke@TheMommiesNetwork.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
How are you reaching the greatest buying power in our nation?&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-2645399022520527146?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/ring-in-new-year-with-tmn.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LIvSjUFlddE/TtOziAq_t3I/AAAAAAAAAd8/lCjyIhBMOPU/s72-c/forumad2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-3018246525504003008</guid><pubDate>Sun, 04 Dec 2011 00:17:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-12-03T16:18:53.323-08:00</atom:updated><title>Winter Bucket List!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wSy5lMI_qto/Ttq8VL61vhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/r-J59mqQ0ZQ/s1600/286895195_h457qJfb_c.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 319px; height: 400px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wSy5lMI_qto/Ttq8VL61vhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/r-J59mqQ0ZQ/s400/286895195_h457qJfb_c.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5682060952044158482" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-3018246525504003008?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/12/winter-bucket-list.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wSy5lMI_qto/Ttq8VL61vhI/AAAAAAAAAIA/r-J59mqQ0ZQ/s72-c/286895195_h457qJfb_c.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-1096772608798152404</guid><pubDate>Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:59:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-25T06:59:32.436-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Santa Letters</category><title>Don't Forget: Santa Letters!</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r-81IQpOsw8/TrPk5z7Fu-I/AAAAAAAAAXc/dEIN8TOTQ6g/s1600/letter-image.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;The elves are busy coordinating delivery of Santa letters to boys and girls across the United States. Is your letter in the bunch? If you haven't yet ordered your letter(s), don't delay! Place your order by Nov. 30 to ensure delivery before Christmas. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Remember, Your first custom letter is only $6. If you purchase more than one, you will receive a 10 percent discount on the entire order. Use coupon code &lt;b&gt;SANTA&lt;/b&gt; at checkout to receive 10 percent off the total.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You will be asked a few questions about your child during the ordering  process. Your answers will assist Santa in creating a unique letter for  your child. Letters will be printed on Santa's special stationery,  signed by the jolly fellow himself, and with the help of a special elf,  shipped in bulk to North Pole, Alaska, in time for your little one to  receive a special letter before the holidays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Reserve your  letter(s) before Nov. 30 to ensure delivery before Christmas. We hope  you'll take advantage of this terrific treat from the North Pole. Place  your order now! &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The proceeds of this fundraiser will support The Mommies Network and your local chapter.&amp;nbsp; Please mention your chapter's name to ensure they receive credit for your purchase.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-1096772608798152404?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/dont-forget-santa-letters.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r-81IQpOsw8/TrPk5z7Fu-I/AAAAAAAAAXc/dEIN8TOTQ6g/s72-c/letter-image.gif" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-8449649059162887820</guid><pubDate>Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-21T08:00:04.850-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Motherhood</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Lighter Side</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">thanksgiving</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">gratitude</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">family</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">comedy</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Domestic Goddess</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Holidays</category><title>All Mom Wants For Thanksgiving</title><description>&lt;div&gt;&lt;iframe src="http://skitguys.com/videos/embed/843/" width="480" height="270" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-8449649059162887820?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/all-mom-wants-for-thanksgiving.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-704409899888090810</guid><pubDate>Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-16T06:00:11.334-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Weigh-In Challenge</category><title>Mommies Weigh-In Challenge</title><description>Are you looking to shed a few pounds? Need some help with your fitness goals? Or just searching for the right foods to eat? &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network&lt;/a&gt; challenges you to be the best you can be in 2012!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_COWvpYPBV4/TsJ-PgNalFI/AAAAAAAAAZA/Lg3M0wEvTK4/s1600/WeighInChallenge2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="132" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_COWvpYPBV4/TsJ-PgNalFI/AAAAAAAAAZA/Lg3M0wEvTK4/s200/WeighInChallenge2.jpg" width="200" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Join mommies across the country on their journey to be healthy for themselves and their families. Participants will be assigned to regional teams led by a TMN member and a wellness collaborator. Results, tips, and stories will be shared monthly to keep all participants motivated. This challenge is a six-month commitment, running January–June.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Email &lt;a href="mailto:fitness@themommiesnetwork.org"&gt;fitness@themommiesnetwork.org&lt;/a&gt; for more information about this program. Applications will be accepted through Nov. 23, 2011.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-704409899888090810?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/mommies-weigh-in-challenge.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_COWvpYPBV4/TsJ-PgNalFI/AAAAAAAAAZA/Lg3M0wEvTK4/s72-c/WeighInChallenge2.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-5316713383354164251</guid><pubDate>Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:16:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-13T14:24:30.089-08:00</atom:updated><title>Events This Week!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1Dug9r0rYk/TsBB1a2aCJI/AAAAAAAAAH0/eYUNO0O4Jpc/s1600/hcgeawacg24.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1Dug9r0rYk/TsBB1a2aCJI/AAAAAAAAAH0/eYUNO0O4Jpc/s320/hcgeawacg24.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674607916483217554" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13.5pt; "&gt;TUESDAY NOVEMBER 15th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;STORY TIME @ WATAUGA PUBLIC LIBRARY&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"  &gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"  &gt;Please join us at the library for story time! They also have train tables, a puppet theater, coloring, and of course books! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b style="text-align: left; font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;_______________&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; "&gt;_________&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13.5pt; "&gt;THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;COFFEE TIME!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Come get your latte on at Bald Guy Brew in Blowing Rock! They have a great train table, fire engine, toys, and of course delicious coffee and treats for everyone! We had a great time at this event last month, so hopefully you can make it out and support a local HCM business! See you there!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 20px; "&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13.5pt; "&gt;___________________________&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13.5pt; "&gt;FRIDAY NOVEMBER 18th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"  &gt;PUMPKIN &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" &gt;PLAY DATE&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"  &gt;!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" &gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px;"&gt;Come on over to make some pumpkin muffins and have a play date. We can even make a fun coloring book you can take home. Melissa, our Avery Co. Moderator, is hosting and will have everything you need. It will be super fun. Hope to see you there! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;b style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; "&gt;_________________________&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 13.5pt; "&gt;SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;MOM'S MORNING OUT!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; "&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Come to the West Jefferson Coffee House for some quiet time without the kiddos! Bring a craft, a book, or nothing. It will be chilly so it's a good day to get warm! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Julie, the owner, serves coffee of course, but also hot dishes, muffins, and tons of other goodies! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; "&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-5316713383354164251?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/events-this-week.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e1Dug9r0rYk/TsBB1a2aCJI/AAAAAAAAAH0/eYUNO0O4Jpc/s72-c/hcgeawacg24.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>1</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-2681685696808326840</guid><pubDate>Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-11T08:00:08.671-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Relationships: Family and Friends</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Veteran's Day</category><title>Thank You.</title><description>HighCountryMommies would like to take a moment to honor our military. While words cannot pay what we owe you and your families, we ‘thank you’ for your sacrifice. To the families who have lost loved ones, we offer our most heartfelt condolences. Many of us have never endured the pain you must feel, but our hearts hurt for your loss and wish we could help ease your pain. Let us never forget the people who did not make it home. Remember those still serving in our prayers and never take for granted the sacrifices they make. In closing, one more time HighCountryMommies would like to say -- THANK YOU.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style="font-style:italic;"&gt;"Absence makes the heart grow fonder. 2 deployments = 2 LONG AWFUL YEARS apart. Now we feel like every day we wake up beside each other is a blessing. Some nights I wake up and just stare at him and say Thank You God for giving him back to me. I am so thankful to have him as my partner in the lonely walk or jouney we call life. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;There are times where stress causes friction but we have just learned to move through it together. We have realized again so many lessons from the deployment but one of my fav's is we are so much stronger together than seperate. &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Am I saying we NEVER fight no I doubt anyone can say that. I am saying we have learned to stop and look at the big picture and focus on our love and our blessings vs. fighting. We try our best to share the perspective of what is really so important we need to fight about."&lt;br /&gt;-Amanda, mother to 2 beautiful sons and wife to a great man, Jason.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-2681685696808326840?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/thank-you.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-4207909473011848185</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Nov 2011 14:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-07T06:56:55.066-08:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Frugal Living</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Recipes</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Grocery Shopping</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Domestic Goddess</category><title>Caramel-Pecan Sticky Buns</title><description>&lt;a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--5nbEEUujzk/TqIVTRQu-FI/AAAAAAAAC2w/N_ELznVZtMw/s400/Cinnamon+roll.jpg"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 239px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--5nbEEUujzk/TqIVTRQu-FI/AAAAAAAAC2w/N_ELznVZtMw/s400/Cinnamon+roll.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;On special holidays, birthdays, or just a sweet homecoming, I like to make my favorite caramel-pecan sticky buns.  Sure, I could stick to the old cinnamon bun recipe, which is decent in its own way.  But nothing says, "I love you" like these sticky buns.  They're not that much harder to make and if done correctly, they can be delightful.&lt;br /&gt;So, get your favorite cup of java ready, because you're gonna need it when you eat this delectable treat.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Caramel-Pecan Sticky Buns&lt;br /&gt;2 1/4 teaspoon dry yeast&lt;br /&gt;3/4 cup warm water (110C to 115C)&lt;br /&gt;3/4 cup warm milk  (110C to 115C)&lt;br /&gt;1/4 cup sugar&lt;br /&gt;3 T vegetable oil&lt;br /&gt;2 t salt&lt;br /&gt;3-3/4 to 4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour&lt;br /&gt;Filling:&lt;br /&gt;1/4 cup butter, softened&lt;br /&gt;1/4 cup sugar&lt;br /&gt;3 t cinnamon&lt;br /&gt;3/4 cup packed brown sugar&lt;br /&gt;1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream&lt;br /&gt;1 cup coarsely chopped pecans&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.  Add the milk, sugar, oil, salt and 1-1/4 cups flour.  Beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until smooth (I use a wooden spoon - just make sure you mix everything until smooth).  Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (not too tacky).  Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.  Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about one hour.**&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Punch down dough.  Turn onto a lightly floured surface.  Roll into an 18-inch by 12-inch rectangle.  Spread butter to within 1/2 inch of edges/  Combine sugar and cinnamon; sprinkle over butter. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seam to seal.  Cut into 12 slices (I use a three inch piece of thread and wrap it around the dough, pull tightly and that cuts it perfectly without smooshing the dough). &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Combine brown sugar and cream; pour into a greased 13-inch by 9-inch by 2-inch baking pan.  If you are in a high altitude, do not use glass.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Place rolls, cut side down, over pecans.  Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour.  Or, you can cover and place in the fridge overnight, but make sure you take them out half an hour before baking to bring to room temperature.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Bake at 350C for 30-35 minutes or until well browned.  Cool for one minute before inverting onto a serving platter.  Yield:  1 dozen&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Caution:  these are addictive, if done right.&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;**I learned a little trick from America's Test Kitchen that I use with all my dough.  Preheat the oven to its lowest setting (mine is 175C) then turn it off.  Use a glass bowl, like Pyrex makes, to put the dough into.  Once the dough is in the bowl and greased well, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven.  It cuts the rise time in half and makes for a very light and airy bread.  You can use this secret with pizza dough, bread, sweet breads, rolls, etc.  &lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;This recipe is from the kitchen of Teesa Klear. Teesa is the mother to 3 beautiful kids. You can find more recipes like this one on her blog: http://www.klearlife.blogspot.com/&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-4207909473011848185?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/caramel-pecan-sticky-buns.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--5nbEEUujzk/TqIVTRQu-FI/AAAAAAAAC2w/N_ELznVZtMw/s72-c/Cinnamon+roll.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-5469909626252148497</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-11-04T07:19:07.335-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Santa Letters</category><title>The Mommies Network Presents Santa Letters</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" height="193" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0NMq0ffSvs/TrPkq_kL3wI/AAAAAAAAAXU/dKr-T2VsIGA/s640/Header.gif" width="640" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;TMN presents Santa Letters!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Have your kids begun making their Christmas wish lists? The Mommies Network and Santa Claus have teamed up to send your little one a letter straight from the North Pole!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r-81IQpOsw8/TrPk5z7Fu-I/AAAAAAAAAXc/dEIN8TOTQ6g/s1600/letter-image.gif" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;Your first custom letter is only $6. If you purchase more than one, you will receive a 10 percent discount on the entire order. Use coupon code SANTA at checkout to receive 10 percent off the total. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
You will be asked a few questions about your child during the ordering process. Your answers will assist Santa in creating a unique letter for your child. Letters will be printed on Santa's special stationery, signed by the jolly fellow himself, and with the help of a special elf, shipped in bulk to North Pole, Alaska, in time for your little one to receive a special letter before the holidays.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Reserve your letter(s) before Nov. 30 to ensure delivery before Christmas. We hope you'll take advantage of this terrific treat from the North Pole. Place your order now! &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html" target="_blank"&gt;http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/santa.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Please mention our area chapter name to ensure we receive credit for your purchase. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The proceeds of this fundraiser will support The Mommies Network and your local chapter.&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-5469909626252148497?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/11/mommies-network-presents-santa-letters.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e0NMq0ffSvs/TrPkq_kL3wI/AAAAAAAAAXU/dKr-T2VsIGA/s72-c/Header.gif" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-1701792525704303126</guid><pubDate>Wed, 26 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-26T08:00:01.823-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Safety</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">neighborhoods</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Holidays</category><title>Halloween</title><description>&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Trebuchet MS&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:#323D4F"&gt;Halloween has always been a favorite of mine. I don't know if it was the candy, the dressing up, the neighborhood involvement, or the general feeling of happiness that everyone, old and young, felt. I think I went trick-or-treating longer then any of my friends and was always the one trying to talk my other 18-year-old friends into going with me. If I wasn't trick-or-treating, I was throwing a Halloween party. The only thing I knew for sure was that I was going to celebrate one way or another. I love Halloween so much; I even brought my oldest child trick-or-treating three days after giving birth to her younger sister. Nothing was going to keep me from sharing with her something that I grew up to love so much.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Unfortunately, times have changed since I was a young child walking the streets for candy and fun. Special care must be taken to be sure the excitement of Halloween doesn't turn into disaster.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;The National Safety Council offers some great advise for parents and children to be sure to enjoy the special night safely. "There is no "trick" to making Halloween a real treat for the entire family." Before planning your night of fun, check to see if your community has an assigned time for trick-or-treating and go over these safety tips as they pertain to your children&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Halloween Safety Tips from the NSC&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Both children and adults need to think about safety on this annual day of make-believe.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;MOTORISTS&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;The National Safety Council urges motorists to be especially alert on Halloween. &lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;* Watch for children darting out from between parked cars&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Watch for children walking on roadways, medians and curbs.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Enter and exit driveways and alleys carefully.&lt;span style="background: #DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• At twilight and later in the evening, watch for children in dark clothing.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;PARENTS&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Before children start out on their "trick or treat" rounds, parents should:&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Make sure that an adult or an older responsible youth will be supervising the outing for children under age 12.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Plan and discuss the route trick-or-treaters intend to follow. Know the names of older children's companions.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Instruct your children to travel only in familiar areas and along an established route.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Teach your children to stop only at houses or apartment buildings that are well lit and never to enter a stranger's home.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Establish a return time.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Tell your youngsters not to eat any treat until they return home.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Review all appropriate trick-or-treat safety precautions, including pedestrian/traffic safety rules.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Pin a slip of paper with the child's name, address and phone number inside a pocket in case the youngster gets separated from the group.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;COSTUME DESIGN&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Only fire-retardant materials should be used for costumes.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Costumes should be loose so warm clothes can be worn underneath.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Costumes should not be so long that they are a tripping hazard. (Falls are the leading cause of unintentional injuries on Halloween.)&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• If children are allowed out after dark, outfits should be made with light colored materials. Strips of retroreflective tape should be used to make children visible.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;FACE DESIGN&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Masks can obstruct a child's vision. Use facial make-up instead.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• When buying special Halloween makeup, check for packages containing ingredients that are labeled "Made with U.S. Approved Color Additives," "Laboratory Tested," Meets Federal Standards for Cosmetics," or "Non-Toxic." Follow manufacturer's instruction for application.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• If masks are worn, they should have nose and mouth openings and large eyeholes.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;ACCESSORIES&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Knives, swords and other accessories should be made from cardboard or flexible materials. Do not allow children to carry sharp objects.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Bags or sacks carried by youngsters should be light-colored or trimmed with retro-reflective tape if children are allowed out after dark.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Carrying flashlights will help children see better and be seen more clearly.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;ON THE WAY&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Children should understand and follow these rules:&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Do not enter homes or apartments without adult supervision.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Walk, do not run, from house to house. Do not cross yards and lawns where unseen objects or the uneven terrain can present tripping hazards&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Walk on sidewalks, not in the street.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Walk on the left side of the road, facing traffic if there are no sidewalks.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;TREATS&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;To ensure a safe trick-or-treat outing, parents are urged to:&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Give children an early meal before going out.&lt;span style="background: #DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Insist that treats be brought home for inspection before anything is eaten.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• Wash fruit and slice into small pieces.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;• When in doubt, throw it out.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;HALLOWEEN PARTY THEMES&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Whether you decide to go trick-or-treating or hold a Halloween party for your friends and family or even invite your whole neighborhood, here are some fun party ideas that can easily and inexpensively be put together. Use your imagination and add to these party themes with some of your own ideas. Remember to ask your neighbors for their help and candy donations.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Barnyard Bash&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Invitations: Cut out animal shapes on construction paper and write the party information on these. Hand deliver to your guests.&lt;span style="background: #DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Decorations: bales of hay, bunches of dried cornstalks, autumn leaves, pumpkins, gourds, dried corncobs. &lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Serve food in western bandanas attached to sticks. Be sure to make a scarecrow. Carved out pumpkins make great serving dishes or chip bowls.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Witches, Wizards and Goblins&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Invitations: Buy several cheap plastic magic wants. Print out invitations on white paper with important information. Scroll up around want. Tie with orange and black ribbon. Hand deliver to guests.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Decorations: String Christmas lights around the entranceway. Hang silver and gold stars through out the party area. Mylar gold and silver balloons can also be hung. Cut out ghost shapes in Mylar and hang. Glow-in-thedark tape attached to walls, doors, lamps etc. is nice when lights are low. Grave markers can be made from Styrofoam sheets - use felt-tip markers to make inscription.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Cats and Bats&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Invitations: Cut out the shape of cats or bats in construction paper. Write important party info on these. Hand deliver to invited guests.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Decorations: Have guests enter through a cat door (place a dark blanket over half the doorway and let guests crawl through). Hang black crepe paper and cobwebs everywhere. Hang black silhouettes of cats and bats throughout the house. Black balloons are a nice touch.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Monster Mash&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Invitations: Buy inexpensive eye masks at party store. Write important party information on mask and hand deliver to guests.&lt;span style="background: #DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Decorations: Bats hung everywhere! Make a coffin out of cardboard and leave at entrance way for kids jackets etc. to be placed inside. Hang black and green crepe paper or streamers.&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Nightmare at Haunted House&lt;span style="background:#DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Invitations: Cut out tombstone shapes on construction paper. Write party info in the form of an epitaph. Hand deliver to guests.&lt;span style="background: #DCE1E5"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;Decorations: Hang spider webs, plastic insects, phony tombstones, ghosts, balloons, witches and bats. Use back and white candles (out of reach of children). Hang ghosts made from white pillowcases. Use white balloons with black eyes drawn on them with markers. Ask florist to save dead flowers and wreaths that would be thrown away. Create a headless heathen by stuffing old clothes with newspaper and prop up at front door. Dry ice makes a special affect at these parties. (*Please be sure to use the dealers safety recommendations for the handling of dry ice-NEVER allow children to handle dry ice)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: normal"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Trebuchet MS&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:#323D4F"&gt;From: &lt;a href="http://www.charlottemommies.com/"&gt;&lt;span style="color:blue"&gt;CharlotteMommies&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-1701792525704303126?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/halloween.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-6557919638976514206</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-23T08:00:05.699-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">calendar</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">events</category><title>Events This Week!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fKHSY6MeA5I/Tp9KeJ1b4xI/AAAAAAAAAHc/edzGgygnl00/s1600/hcgeawacg24.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 205px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fKHSY6MeA5I/Tp9KeJ1b4xI/AAAAAAAAAHc/edzGgygnl00/s320/hcgeawacg24.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5665328738151949074" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;MONDAY OCTOBER 24th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;PLAY TIME AT JUNALUSKA PARK&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Ahh, Junaluska Park! Downtown Boone's hidden "gem" of a park and playground! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Metal Slides, Tire Swing, classic Merry-Go-Round, Swings, Covered Shelter, and Basketball Courts make for a great day of fun! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Bring your kid's ride-on toys and we can let them ride around the fenced-in b-ball courts. Pack a lunch if you want! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; _________________________&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;TUESDAY OCTOBER 25th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;YOUNG READER'S CLUB&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Do you have a little bookworm? &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "&gt;Join us at our High Country Young Reader's Club meet-up! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "&gt;There will be a reading of this month's selection: Corduroy, a craft based around the book, and lunch! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "&gt;Bring your favorite Teddy Bear! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "&gt;&lt;b style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Find out more details, read-along questions, and activities on the forums! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; "&gt; _________________________&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;PLAY TIME AT VALLE CRUCIS PARK&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Valle Crucis Park is big enough to let kid's of all ages RUN WILD! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Join us after School lets out for the day for some late afternoon fun! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; "&gt; _________________________&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;THURSDAY OCTOBER 27th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;COFFEE TIME!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 10.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; color: black; "&gt;Come get your latte on at Bald Guy Brew in Blowing Rock! They have a great train table, fire engine, toys, and of course delicious coffee and treats for everyone! We had a great time at this event last month, so hopefully you can make it out and support a local HCM business! See you there!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="color: black; font-size: 20px;"&gt; &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b style="font-size: large; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt; &lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 20px; "&gt; _________________________&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;SATURDAY OCTOBER 29th!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:&amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;; mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; color:black"&gt;MOM'S MORNING OUT!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:15.0pt; font-family:&amp;quot;Georgia&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;; mso-bidi-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;&lt;o:p&gt;&lt;/o:p&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;  &lt;p class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: large; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal; "&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Come to the West Jefferson Coffee House for some quiet time without the kiddos! Bring a craft, a book, or nothing. It will be chilly so it's a good day to get warm! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Julie, the owner, serves coffee of course, but also hot dishes, muffins, and tons of other goodies! &lt;/span&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span style="font-size:10.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;font-family: &amp;quot;Verdana&amp;quot;,&amp;quot;sans-serif&amp;quot;;mso-fareast-font-family:&amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;mso-bidi-font-family: &amp;quot;Times New Roman&amp;quot;;color:black"&gt;Check the calendar for directions and specific times!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-6557919638976514206?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/events-this-week_23.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fKHSY6MeA5I/Tp9KeJ1b4xI/AAAAAAAAAHc/edzGgygnl00/s72-c/hcgeawacg24.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-5129966186727787196</guid><pubDate>Fri, 21 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-21T08:00:00.787-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">community outreach</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">neighborhoods</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Non-Profit Organization</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Grocery Shopping</category><title>HCM Fall Food Drive, benefiting Hunger and Health Coalition</title><description>&lt;a href="http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/6369/hcmeawmo1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 500px; height: 474px;" src="http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/6369/hcmeawmo1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;p class="MsoNormal"&gt;&lt;span class="apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;span style="font-size: 15pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Georgia, serif; "&gt;&lt;b&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" &gt;Bring your items to any and all HCM events this Fall!&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" &gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-5129966186727787196?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/hcm-fall-food-drive-benefiting-hunger.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-7176000194410100735</guid><pubDate>Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:19:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-19T15:23:37.185-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Reading</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Pre-school (2-5 year olds)</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">calendar</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">events</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Young Reader's Club</category><title>High Country Young Reader's Club!</title><description>&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n486/Peninsula_Mommies/Editorial%20Team%20stuff/HighCountryEAW-PD-8.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 725px; height: 529px;" src="http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n486/Peninsula_Mommies/Editorial%20Team%20stuff/HighCountryEAW-PD-8.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;a href="http://studiomaury.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/corduroy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img src="http://studiomaury.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/corduroy.jpg" border="0" alt="" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 379px; " /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 238); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: underline; "&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-7176000194410100735?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/high-country-young-readers-club.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://i1136.photobucket.com/albums/n486/Peninsula_Mommies/Editorial%20Team%20stuff/th_HighCountryEAW-PD-8.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-1156061107982217028</guid><pubDate>Sun, 16 Oct 2011 22:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-16T15:10:02.522-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Fall</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">calendar</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">events</category><title>Events This Week!</title><description>&lt;img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SodH3qeZ8gY/TptVK9YYLuI/AAAAAAAAAG4/Uv1v8Ko0E4Y/s200/hcgeawacg24.jpg" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 128px; height: 200px; " border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664214603112394466" /&gt;&lt;a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEnx4OwFd8M/TptVa-P792I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/aAEAyrJTbOA/s1600/HCMEAW-MEO-38.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vEnx4OwFd8M/TptVa-P792I/AAAAAAAAAHQ/aAEAyrJTbOA/s400/HCMEAW-MEO-38.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5664214878223333218" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;&lt;u&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/u&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span" &gt;&lt;b&gt;Also on Monday Oct. 17th, Mom's Night Out @ Makoto's Japanese Restaurant and Sushi Bar in Boone. &lt;/b&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;span class="Apple-style-span"&gt;Check out our calendar for more details on both events! &lt;a href="http://www.highcountrymommies.com/forum/cal_view_month.php"&gt;http://www.highcountrymommies.com/forum/cal_view_month.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;div style="text-align: left;"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-1156061107982217028?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/events-this-week.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SodH3qeZ8gY/TptVK9YYLuI/AAAAAAAAAG4/Uv1v8Ko0E4Y/s72-c/hcgeawacg24.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-4094229913172218163</guid><pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 22:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-12T15:06:19.236-07:00</atom:updated><title>Wordless Wednesday</title><description>&lt;a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hV_jElVyuw/TpYPThiy4-I/AAAAAAAAAGs/6wzVr3iTSsU/s1600/296350_10150831872925032_605455031_20918829_496919232_n.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hV_jElVyuw/TpYPThiy4-I/AAAAAAAAAGs/6wzVr3iTSsU/s320/296350_10150831872925032_605455031_20918829_496919232_n.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5662730409561220066" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-4094229913172218163?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/wordless-wednesday.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--hV_jElVyuw/TpYPThiy4-I/AAAAAAAAAGs/6wzVr3iTSsU/s72-c/296350_10150831872925032_605455031_20918829_496919232_n.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-8043583111852776018</guid><pubDate>Sun, 09 Oct 2011 07:14:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-09T00:14:45.939-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">National Forum</category><title>National Support at Your Fingertips</title><description>&lt;div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"&gt;&lt;img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1S_E0RKuvnQ/TpBCl5ssS1I/AAAAAAAAAVI/c5q8CI4YqoU/s1600/gotkidsbutton.jpg" target="_blank" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt;What if you had a place to go that had the same great support as your local chapter, but with more specialized forums and thousands of members across the United States?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What if that place offered encouragement to mommies in specific situations, such as stay-at-home, work-at-home, and military mommies?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What if that place provided interaction in groups discussing the latest &lt;i&gt;Twilight&lt;/i&gt; books, couponing tips, and other hot topics in today's culture?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
What if you could get all that for &lt;i&gt;free&lt;/i&gt;?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Well, wonder no longer, because it's here at &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/" target="_blank"&gt;The Mommies Network National Forum&lt;/a&gt;. With 3,000 members and growing, the National Forum offers the same great support you've come to know from your local chapter, but with a twist. It features unique forums not available on your home site, including couponing, family vacation tips (including Disney), and alternative medicine.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Looking for someone to chat with about Twilight and other vamp books? Check out our "Everything Vamps" subforum in Books, Movies, &amp;amp; Entertainment. Are you a stay-at-home, campus, or military mommy looking for a friend? Talk with those in your situation in one of the Our Work subforums. Do you have a child with special needs and desire interaction with other mothers who are dealing with a specific condition? We have subforums related to specific diagnoses in Our Kids With Special Needs.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Members of this free site may purchase a &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/national_addons.shtml" target="_blank"&gt;Premium Membership&lt;/a&gt;, which contains extra forums, such as Debate This and Classifieds, along with other perks.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Mommies across the country are chatting it up in these and many other groups in the &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/" target="_blank"&gt;National Forum&lt;/a&gt;. So skip the "what ifs," and join us for enhanced support on a national scale!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;i&gt;If you're interested in being on the ground level of the action, consider becoming a &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/viewtopic.php?f=21&amp;amp;t=631" target="_blank"&gt;Support Coordinator&lt;/a&gt; or &lt;a href="http://www.themommiesnetwork.org/nationalforum/viewtopic.php?f=21&amp;amp;t=624" target="_blank"&gt;Posting Diva&lt;/a&gt; for the National Forum.&lt;/i&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-8043583111852776018?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/national-support-at-your-fingertips.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><media:thumbnail xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" url="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1S_E0RKuvnQ/TpBCl5ssS1I/AAAAAAAAAVI/c5q8CI4YqoU/s72-c/gotkidsbutton.jpg" height="72" width="72" /><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-5939288222044894286</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-10-03T17:39:50.599-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">The Mommies Network</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">webinar</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Mommies Talk</category><title>The Mommies Network Presents ... Mommies Talk</title><description>&lt;img alt="Mommies Talk Webinar" src="http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/7834/mommiestalklogo.jpg" style="float: left; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;" width="139" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="font-color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"&gt;The Mommies Network Presents ... Mommies Talk!&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;Mommies Talk is a monthly webinar series that engages, informs, and supports our members.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;img height="118" src="http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/7102/positiveparenting.png" width="430" /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;div style="font-color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;Get your kids to listen — the first time. No nagging or yelling required. October's webinar, presented in partnership with Positive Parenting Solutions, offers tools and strategies you can use right away. Discover how this webinar will be your answer to better behavior and parenting peace!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;There are two dates to choose from: Wednesday, Oct. 12, at 2 p.m. EDT and Thursday, Oct. 13, at 9 p.m. EDT. To ensure that this webinar proceeds as scheduled, we need at least 120 participants. If you are interested in attending, please &lt;a href="http://www.positiveparentingsolutions.com/the-mommies-network" target="_blank"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #716452; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;click here&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; to sign up as soon as possible.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="font-color: black; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;Email &lt;a href="mailto:jennifer.zaranis@themommiesnetwork.org"&gt;&lt;span style="color: #716452; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"&gt;jennifer.zaranis@themommiesnetwork.org&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/a&gt; with any questions about the Mommies Talk webinar series.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-5939288222044894286?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/10/mommies-network-presents-mommies-talk.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (The Mommies Network)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6047329648876187243.post-9099019684928198142</guid><pubDate>Fri, 30 Sep 2011 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2011-09-30T08:00:04.353-07:00</atom:updated><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Fall</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">calendar</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">events</category><category domain="http://www.blogger.com/atom/ns#">Holidays</category><title>Fall Has Arrived!</title><description>&lt;a href="http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/192778835_RqiiqRvN_c.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"&gt;&lt;img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 553px; height: 691px;" src="http://d30opm7hsgivgh.cloudfront.net/upload/192778835_RqiiqRvN_c.jpg" border="0" alt="" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;div class="blogger-post-footer"&gt;&lt;img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/6047329648876187243-9099019684928198142?l=highcountrymommies.blogspot.com' alt='' /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</description><link>http://highcountrymommies.blogspot.com/2011/09/fall-has-arrived.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Pam Allen)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>

