Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

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Art Auction Sunday

Hope Landing is having an art auction fundraiser tomorrow afternoon at the South Arkansas Arts Center. The kids that go to Hope Landing did the artwork. Ben does some speech therapy there and got to participate in creating some art to sell. Already got a bid!

They're also doing a nativity performance at the Arts Center at 2 @. Tomorrow. Come! Ben's a wise man. And he also plays a wise man in the nativity tomorrow.

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Pumpkin Cheesecake Muffins

Now these are good. The super secret recipe for these pumpkin cheesecake muffins is plastered on the side of the Pillsbury Pumpkin Quickbread box.

Come and have one!

Cup of Cheer

Couldn't wait any longer for some Wassail. Does a cold some good. This is the second batch I've made this weekend.
Here's my rendition of a traditional Christmas drink in the McLendon home:
Cran-apple juice
Pineapple-orange juice
2-3 cinnamon sticks
Orange cut in half (insert cloves)
Simmer, simmer, drink. Yum.

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Story of my life

I'm going to see if I can get this tatooed on my forehead

$10 Pullease!!!

Oh the humanity! Ben brought home his 3rd fundraising project in the last two months! We need to sell 8 of these school partners discount cards by Friday so he can get some "magic light up teeth." This is a fundraiser for his school.

The cards are just $10 each, and are good through 12/31/2010. I checked their website and there a lot of good discounts all over the state. It also comes with a little booklet showing the discounts in each city, You can see the discounts in your city here.

Will you PLEASE help? Who could resist this cute little face?

Call, e-mail, or comment on this post and I will fix you up! Thank you!

Tis the Season

I think this is a required post for October - the pumkin patch visit. I'm just following the blogging rules.

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Someone's Got to Cook... Why not the 3-yr old?

Mary Claire and I made another Southern Plate recipe last night. It's called Loaded Potato Casserole. Got it from http://www.velveetakitchenistas.com/

Ben and the Terrible, Horrible, Very Bad Day

One of Ben's teachers, Mrs. Dison sent me one of Ben's papers that he wrote as a part of their Alexander unit. She said he did an excellent job. Check it out - click the paper to see larger image. Poor guy - it's mostly non-fiction (except of course for the making an "F" part!).

Written and illustrated by Ben Parker :)

Help a Scout Out

Anybody that knows me knows that I do not like asking people to buy stuff. But alas, it's fundraiser time for Boy Scouts and Ben needs your help! His goal is to sell $200 worth of popcorn. I'm stressing!

Will you buy some popcorn for a good cause? Just click on the picture below to see a bigger image, and tell me what you want. The deadline to turn orders in is October 8. You can pay me when your order comes in (I deliver!). Please!

My New Friend

So, I told you about SouthernPlate.com. Well, I made a couple comments on Christy's blog the other day. See my comments and her responses below. I was thrilled. :)

Magen says:September 24, 2009 at 7:46 am

Christy – I discovered your blog a couple weeks ago (a friend forwarded me an
e-mail about it) and I’m addicted. I honestly feel like we’re good friends already! Note that I’m that friend with a super busy full-time job that never cooks and hopes that her kids can thrive on McDonald’s chicken nuggets and apple slices. I think we’re a good balance!
I love that a lot of your recipes are similar to those that my mom cooked when I was growing up. Since reading your blog, I’ve made taco soup (yours was just like my mom’s recipe!) and that pulled pork sandwich crock pot recipe from your PDF. Super easy!
If you ever come visit Arkansas, come see me and I’ll make sure and have some sweet tea ready! (always make mine in the coffee pot, but I put my tea bags in where you would put the coffee grains – that way you never accidentally have coffee-tea!). Thanks so much!

SouthernPlate says:September 24, 2009 at 5:26 pm

Hey Magen,WOW, if you know about coffee tea then you really HAVE been reading SP! lol Hey, consider us good friends, I’d be honored!
And just so you know, my four year old is a picky eater and I give in and get her McDonald’s about twice a week just so she will actually eat an entire meal! Guess what I get her? Chicken nuggets and apple slices! See? Great minds think alike! I promise you that at the end of the day, we’re all much better mothers than we give ourselves credit for!
I’ll show up at your doorstep one of these days and take you up on that tea!!
I’m so glad you’re here, Magen!
Gratefully,Christy

Magen says:September 24, 2009 at 7:48 am

Oh – and I made your buttermilk biscuits! They were heavenly – tasted just like
my mamaw’s! Thank you!!

SouthernPlate says:September 24, 2009 at 5:27 pm

Anytime a recipe tastes like somebody’s Mamaws, thats about as good as it gets!Thank you for the ultimate of compliments!!!

Southern Cookin'

Thanks to my good friend/neighbor/sorority sister/confidante/forwarder-of-emails Amy, I have been turned on the the southern cooking delights of Christy at SouthernPlate.com. It feels like Christy's my friend already and I don't even know her! I made some super easy bbq sandwiches this weekend from a recipe I found on her site.

1 boneless beef roast
1 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce
hamburger buns
Put the roast in the crock pot, season with garlic, salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8 hours (time may vary depending on your crock pot - mine cooks faster).
Shred beef and add bbq sauce. Mix and cook 20 minutes more.
Serve on hamburger buns.

Ben Goes to 3rd Grade

Well, Ben wasn't quite as excited about starting 3rd grade as Mary Claire was about starting preschool (can you blame him? no triangle rice krispie treats in 3rd grade). He's at a new school this year, so it was a little scary.

The adjustment has been a difficult one for him since he's trying to find his place with a group of kids that have been together since kindergarten and he's the newcomer, but he's doing good. He's a super-sharp kid and academics have come easy to him so far - I'm thinking 3rd grade may pose more of a challenge, which will be good!

Each year at the beginning of school, Ben has a little adjustment period where he's learning how far he can go and still stay on "blue" (the color discipline system). I told him the first week that he stayed on blue all week (blue is the best, then green, then yellow, then red - worst) that we would reward him. So that was last week and we went on a family bowling outing this weekend. :)

Jason got the best score, but he did make an "A" in bowling in college (yuh huh, there is a college course in bowling - crazy, I know - crazier till that he took it!), so he did have the advantage on the rest of us. :)

And, some good old fashioned Labor day fun...

Mary Claire Goes to School

Mary Claire started preschool (3K) on August 19. She was SOOO excited to go and had so much fun the first day. When she got home that night and we said she got to go back again the next day, she said she did not want to go back because she had already been to school. She said she was going back to Wanda's. It's been a major adjustment not seeing her Wandi and Larry every single day! Well, after a couple weeks of crying each morning, she is now happy to go to school each day.

She's been singing the cutest songs. From what I can gather, she's learned the following so far:
Genesis 1:1; Pledge of Allegiance; My Country Tis of Thee; Miss Molly Had a Dolly; God Made Me (from my head down to my toes); some song about a squirrel with a bushy bushy tail; lots of other random songs that I hear glimpses of; and the Bubbling song (so cute!):

"It's bubbling, It's bubbling,It's bubbling in my soul.There's singing, and laughing,Since Jesus mad me whole.Folks don't understand it, Nor can I keep it quietIt's bubbling, bubbling, bubbling, bubbling,Bubbling, day and night."

Each week they're learning about a different shape and color. This week she's learning about the color yellow and the triangle. So, it's also our turn to bring snacks this week, and we made yellow rice krispie treats in the shape of triangles (with sprinkles for good measure). How much fun!

Stay tuned for how Ben's experience with 3rd grade is going tomorrow...

Help Wanted

God sent me Anna this summer, home from Harding, to help around the house: washing, folding, and putting away clothes, picking up toys, making beds, vaccuming, and loading/unloading the dishwasher. Anna, you made me look forward to coming home everyday, and I thank you so much for saving my sanity for a few months! It's amazing how much better we all felt coming home to a cleane house!

Now, Anna has gone back to college and all the flat surfaces in my living room are covered with clean clothes waiting to be folded.

Know anyone who wants to make a few extra bucks each week for a good cause? Let me know!

Art Apprec 101

We were at a play at our local arts center recently and the kids were admiring some of the artwork before it started.
Don't they seem so sophisticated? Sometimes a picture silences a thousand words. :)

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PINKALICIOUS

Pink is Mary Claire's favorite color (how cliche). We bought the Pinkalicious book today about a little girl who eats so many pink cupcakes that she turns pink. We just had to make some pink strawberry cupcakes in honor of it.

Read the book three times while they were baking. Ok, Mary Claire and I read it three times and Ben was playing with legos.

Bookworm

Mary Claire has recently started licking her finger before she turns a page. They pick up on EVERYTHING!

2/3 Yr.-old Bible Class: Sneetches

Katie and I are teaching the 2/3 yr. olds on Sunday mornings this summer (Mary Claire's class). We came up with a neat idea, and I'm so excited about it I am going to share it with you! Each week, we are going to read a Dr. Seuss book and talk about what we can learn from it about being Christians.

I downloaded some "Dr. Suess font" and put the following up on the wall in big letters:

Follow God when you're in a box

Follow God when you're with a fox

He's your master here or there...

God is sovereign everywhere!

He's our God, our precious lamb;

The King of kings, the great I AM!

What we did this Sunday:

Story: We read The Sneetches, which introduces us to Sneetches with stars on their bellies and Sneetches without stars on their bellies. The Sneetches with stars won’t play with the Sneetches without stars until they learn a valuable lesson that they are all the same inside, where it counts.

Lesson: The moral we brought it back to was that no matter how different each of us are, everyone special to God.

Bible Verse: Psalm 139:14 "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." We colored a picture of the Sneetches with the verse on it.

Take Home: I made and cut out little circles to help them remember what we learned and pinned them on their shirts (see picture).

"Hope doesn't put food on our table"

The Waxman-Markey Cap and Trade Bill, as passed in the House (currently being considered in Senate) would DEVASTATE my community, AND unnecessarily increase the prices that every single American pays for energy (gasoline, electricity, groceries, and everything else that fluctuates with the price of energy).

We need everybody to let our senators know: Waxman-Markey has it wrong! Reject Waxman-Markey and come up with something that addresses climate change without crippling the economy of the heartland!

http://www.eldoradonews.com/Blog/2009/07/21/lowery-testifies-before-congress-today/

http://www.arkansansagainstcapandtrade.com/

What were you doing on this day in 2006?

I was getting an epidural. :) Mary Claire is 3 years old as of Monday (7/13). Had a little celebration for her this weekend. Nice to pause for a moment and reflect on how much fun we're having.

Here's your Chance...

Representative John Lowery Jr., Chairman of the Citizens Against Cap and Trade, has called a press conference tomorrow, Wednesday, July 8 at 11 am on the east side of the Union County Courthouse.

Lion Oil's Vice President, Steve Cousins, and others will talk about the regional economic impact of the Cap and Trade bill. Please spread the word and take 30 minutes out of your day Wednesday to learn more about what this bill would mean for our community.

Have you completed my poll (see right side of page)?

And become a Facebook fan!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Arkansans-Against-Cap-and-Trade/99941029230

I chose not to die on this hill

Among all the many things Mary Claire likes to sleep with, I thought her latest request deserved a photo.

Twins Separated at Birth

I just now realized that Amy Adams, who in my mind starred in all the movies listed below, is not just Amy Adams, but also Isla Fisher. Okay, not really, but you get what I'm saying. I thought this was the same person until today.

• Enchanted
• Confessions of a Shopaholic
• Definitely, Maybe
• Wedding Crashers
• Night at the Museum II
• Miss Pettigrew

Now that I realize there are two of them, I pick Amy Adams as my favorite, because Enchanted is my favorite of the movies listed above. Isla can be her stunt woman. :) However, they're obviously equally talented, since I was comparing "Amy's" acting in Definitely, Maybe to her role in Enchanted the other night. Don't they look just alike?

Lawn care

Looking for someone to mow/weed eat my yard every other week that won't charge a ridiculous price and will actually show up. Any suggestions?

If you're thinking about suggesting the guy I live with, don't. I already told him I'd pay him $30 to do it and he said no. :)

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Best thing since sliced bread

Now this is American ingenuity at its best - we need to put the guy that invented this on the energy crisis.
I use real butter for cooking, but margarine has been pretty much the only effective choice for buttering bread and things like that.
I happened to come across this in Tuesday Morning (what a pointless name for a store that is obviously open more than just Tues. Morning) and bought it out of curiosity. Guess what... It totally works and does exactly what it says it will do - just put a stick of real butter in it and twist and the butter comes out in a thin ribbon. We are not going to buy any more margarine! Such a cool product - everybody needs one of these!
http://www.asseenontv.com/prod-pages/butter_dispenser.html
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The Gloves Are Off

While America enjoyed Friday evening watching transformers in the movie theater, or going out to dinner, or watching Michael Jackson coverage on every channel, they should have been watching Congress because our country is being transformed. Right in front of our eyes and nobody's watching. The house is snuck in a vote last night -- the 1,500 page Waxman Markey climate change bill.

The Cap and Trade bill passed in the House late last night (219 for, 212 against).

What is Cap and Trade/Waxman-Markey? It is a scheme that places a maximum on allowable emissions in the US and rachets that emissions cap down from 2012 through 2050 to just 17% of 2005 levels. Sounds nice right? Wrong. Because US companies are having to pay for all these emissions, and how to they pay for them? They pass the cost on to YOU and ME through our electricity bills, gasoline and diesel purchases, and everything else we buy that is impacted by those costs - which is everything we buy. This will devastate America. Just one example, El Dorado's local refinery, Lion Oil, has already said that it will have to close its doors and layoff its 1,200 employees if this legislation passes.

The next move for this bill is the Senate. Obama is taking his gloves off, saying that everyone who speaks out against this bill is "misinformed" and pressuring the Senate to pass it. How can little ole us go up against that? Well, each of us have 2 Senators that HAVE to listen to us - but we HAVE TO TALK TO THEM so they know that we don't want them to support this bill!

Call, write, visit, twitter, and facebook your 2 Senators and let them know we want a climate change bill that will really make a difference without further crippling the American economy.

Don't know how to say it? Go to http://www.fuel-america.com/ and click the Take Action link to have a letter generated for your representatives that you can edit (or not) and send by e-mail.

Headed to the tub

With all the essentials
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Consequences of 30 minutes of uninterrupted homework time

That's mascara incase you were wondering. She also painted her toenails and fingernails and fingers and my new tile floor.
Magen Parker


Want to learn what you can do to help keep fuel prices low? Visit www.Fuel-America.com

Cap and Trade Bill Bad for Arkansas

Good article in the El Dorado News Times today.
Ross: Industries could be hit hard if bill becomes law
By: John Worthen - El Dorado News Times

Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., on Thursday said that industries in El Dorado and Union County could be hit particularly hard if a proposed climate change bill aimed at reducing carbon emissions becomes law. In an e-mailed statement sent out to news media in the Fourth Congressional District, Ross said that although he agrees that carbon emissions must be reduced, he can’t support the bill in its present form because of its potential to devastate his district’s economy.

“El Dorado could be hit particularly hard if this bill passes, as it is home to Murphy Oil and Lion Oil,” Ross said in the release. “I was proud to welcome Steve Cousins, vice president of refining for Lion, to testify this week before Congress where he argued that if this bill passes in its current form, the El Dorado refinery would be forced to close its doors within a year and lay off 1,200 local workers.”

Highlights from the article:

• Under the cap-and-trade plan that is part of the bill, total carbon-dioxide emissions from large sources, such as power plants and factories, must be reduced by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020 and by 83 percent by 2050.  American manufacturers must pay to emit carbon dioxide.
• Arkansas is among a group of states that stands to suffer a 1.5 percent decline in jobs by 2030 if the legislation becomes law.
• Ross voted against the bill in committee, despite lobbying efforts and phone calls he received from Speaker Pelosi and President Obama.
• While other states have an abundance of renewable energy in the forms of solar and wind, southern Arkansas does not. Instead, our area has vast amounts of biomass that under this bill’s current definition cannot be fully utilized. It also refuses to allow our state’s existing hydro and nuclear power to count toward the proposed federally-mandated renewable electricity standard.
• These limitations stand to increase the price we all pay for energy while limiting the ability of our foresters and farmers to have a leading role in producing American-made energy.
• We must be very careful in passing any climate change legislation to ensure that we do not enact policies that close our local facilities and ship our jobs and carbon dioxide emissions overseas.
• The reality is that between now and 2040, 97 percent of new carbon emissions will not be produced from the United States or Europe, but rather from places like China, India, and the Middle East.
  

Full Article: http://www.eldoradonews.com/news/localnews/2009/06/12/ross-industries-could-be-hit-hard-if-bil-33.php

This is too important to watch from the sideline - let your representatives know where you stand - www.Fuel-America.com

King Tut

Ben and I went on a G/T field trip to Dallas in May to see the King Tut exhibit and we also went to the Aquarium.  Short trip, but a lot of fun!

www.kingtut.org
www.dwazoo.com

I got a wife!!

I mentioned in an earlier post that it was really depressing to come home after a long day at work to dirty laundry and dishes, and toys and clutter as far as the eye can see (notice someone stole my blog title to write their book!).  

Well, guess what?  God sent me an angel named Anna!  Anna goes to my church, and she's home from college for the summer and is coming over 2-3 times a week to help out around the house.

Some appropriate movie quotes fit quite well in this post (adapted of course for this situation):

• Little Rascals - I got a wife, I got a wife, I got a wife, hey hey hey hey!  
• Casablanca - Anna, I think this is going to be a beautiful friendship!  
• Gone with the Wind - Of course, she'll leave me when school starts back in the fall.  But I can't think about that right now.  If I do, I'll go crazy.  I'll think about that tomorrow.

El Dorado in the news AGAIN!

This time, it was on Fox Business Network's morning show today, Money for Breakfast. Check it out at this link: www.tinyurl.com/promiseonfox

What Are Your Memorial Day Weekend Plans?

Just curious!  What are your plans for this weekend?  In light of being frugal (only because I'm getting carpet and tile installed next week), I was thinking about painting the trim in my foyer.  How thrilling!  Don't you wish you were me?  :)

What are your plans?


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This e-mail with all attachments is confidential and may contain legally privileged information intended solely for the use of the addressee.  If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that reading or any other use of this message is unauthorized.  Any views or opinions expressed in this message are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Murphy Oil Corporation or any of its subsidiaries.

Why you MUST read the next People Magazine

Run, don't walk, to your local magazine stand this Friday to get the June 1 edition of People Magazine. It will include a story about the El Dorado Promise (supposed to be a couple pages). Maybe it will be right next to the Jon and Kate scandal! :)

Kid's say the darndest things

We had just finished eating at Applebee's after church today and Jason and I were in separate vehicles. Ben wanted to ride with Jason, and Jason asked Mary Claire who she wanted to ride with. She said she wanted to ride with mommy cause daddy's truck was "scary and too louder and has toots in it."

I laughed so hard I cried, and Mary Claire had no idea what was so funny, but she started laughing with me eventually anyway. :)

TAKE ACTION TODAY on Credit Card Companies

Write to Your Senators Today and Tell Them to SUPPORT the Durbin/Bond Consumer Discount and Fee Transparency Amendment.

House bill H.R. 627, the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act will be brought to the Senate floor early this week. This is the consumer bill that recently passed the House. Senators Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Kit Bond (R-MO) will offer an amendment to increase transparency of credit card fees, and allow merchants to offer a wider array of discounts to consumers.

Specifically, the Consumer Discount and Fee Transparency Amendment:
(1) updates current law, which permits merchants to provide discounts for consumers who pay by cash or check instead of credit card, by permitting merchants to also discount for debit cards or lower-fee credit cards; and
(2) directs the Federal Reserve Board to gather and publish information on interchange fees, other credit card fees, and the rules governing them.

In addition, it strengthens existing laws to clarify that card companies cannot penalize retailers for 1) offering discounts; 2) the way in which they display the discounts; or 3) for directing consumers toward a discount payment option.

HR 627 draws a line in favor of consumers by banning most retroactive rate increases on existing balances (except where the card holder is thirty days late in making payment) and increasing notification of any interest rate hikes going forward to foty-five days. It also stops the annoying tricks and traps that cost card holders money: due-date gimmicks, misallocation of payments on balances with different interest rates, double-cycle billing; and it bans issuance of cards to minors.

The bill is expected to come to the floor this afternoon and debate and amendments will continue throughout the week. The Durbin/Bond amendment could come up as early as today - please send your U.S. Senators an e-mail by clicking here:
http://www.ga.murphyoilcorp.com/issue_alert.asp?g=murphyoil&issue=creditcard&parent=MURPHYOIL

Stamps Going Up

The price of stamps goes up 2 cents to 44 cents on Monday, May 11.  So go now and load up on Forever stamps!

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Congrats, Mom!

Congratulations to my mom, Mikie McLendon, for winning this year's Mother of the Year!  It's about time!!!!!  Link to the news story below...

http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/index.html?nid=AVDZpwSVnd_KaNAd3hyVmzEwNjY1NzU2&id=-15439867-2l0.9Rx

FREE Mocha Mondays, People!!!!

Every Monday in May at McDonalds, all Monday long ... Iced or hot mochas F-R-E-E.

I'm lovin' it!!!

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Pray for David Ray Bright

David Ray Bright, a good friend of my family, was involved in a serious motorcycle accident on April 25, 2009. He suffered multiple fractures in both legs, both arms and his face. He has undergone surgery to begin repairing many of the fractures, but he has a large number of surgeries still ahead of him. Thankfully, his brain, heart and other vital organs were not injured in the accident. He is in Baptist hospital in Little Rock and his wife, Debbie, is by his side. Please keep David, Debbie and their two adult children Charlie and Anna (and their families) in your prayers.

His daughter Anna is doing a wonderful job of keeping everyone updated at the following website:

http://www.carepages.com/carepages/drbright

You have to sign up (register) to see the updates.

Debbie allowed me to share this sweet note she e-mailed out below:

Dear sweet friends, thank you all for your prayers and concern for David Ray. He is coming along, but we are in for lots and lots of therapy and healing. I knew that we had friends, but never knew that you all loved us so much.

Sat. night I called Marcia and by the time I was at the hospital you all were there. I don't know how I would have survived without you. Thank you is not sufficient to express what I feel. You held me up when I fell. We have a long road ahead, but we can make it with the Lord's help, and your love.

How surprised I was when you all showed up! My dear, dear friends, thank you. I love you all.

Wanda Woods and Jimmy were waiting in the surgery ICU the first night. Jason Sparks, our preacher has been here numerous times, and we were worried that he had to preach after staying up all night long. Because I guess I was in a fog, I have difficulty remembering all who were there. Paul and Mikie have been so supportive, as well as Jerry and Linda Arrington. See, it was okay for Mikie to relocate, and Linda's children to move to Little Rock.

Please remember to Pray for David Ray. Especially pray that his open wounds will heal. Please pray for good blood flow and that the tissue will heal. Please pray for his healing physically and emotionally. Please pray that we will be allowed to keep David Ray.

May God's will be done in all things, and may God bless each of you. I love you, Debbie