It's Bring Your Boy Tuesday at MOPS! (or don't, that's okay, too)

Our next MOPS meeting is next Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.  

Morning MOPS and Evening MOPS are combining numbers for our special Couples Panel event.

Childcare will be available, but it is very important that you let us know if you're coming, and how many short people you're bringing with you.

Please, please, please....even if your significant other can't come with you, or doesn't want to come, you should still come to MOPS!  We will miss you and things just won't be the same without you.  I'll be coming alone, because my mister is in the middle of a two-week run of being the sound engineer for The Producers, and Lord knows I need to get out.

We have a few topics that will be up for discussion, but we'd love to know what you would like us to talk about in front of your spouse.  Yes, that does mean you can totally set him up by emailing me something he does that makes your brain explode.  And we will discuss it without even mentioning his name.  Because we are subtle like that.  Well, Joce and I aren't really subtle, but we'll find someone who is to handle the subtlety.

Here's what we have:

how do you as a couple balance household chores? 

how do you show each other you still value, appreciate, find each other attractive?

how do you balance couple time with other responsibilities? 

how do you balance self time with other responsibilities without feeling guilty? 

how do you get back on track when your relationship is off? 

and my personal contribution, how do you get your spouse to put his laundry away and take the screen door off the porch when it's February and you've been asking since October?

Send an email to northgatemops at gmail dot com, except, you know, with the appropriate signs and symbols, or leave a comment.  You can even comment anonymously if your topic is too delicate or sensitive for you to leave your name.  If we could get a count by Monday at noon, that would give us time to get enough Moppets workers.

o'lacy's

Wednesday night.
7 p.m.
Be there or be square.

cheese danish rules.

Stephanie's Cheese Danish

Here's what you need:

• 2 packages crescent rolls
• 16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 stick butter or margarine
• cinnamon & sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non-stick spray. Press 1 package of crescent rolls on the bottom of the pan. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Spread cream cheese mixture on top of crescent rolls in pan. Spread out the second package of crescent rolls on top. Melt butter and pour it over the top. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until top is golden brown.

Tell the children the recipe didn't really work out, and eat the entire pan yourself. Because really? Don't we all need to work hard to maintain our Holiday Season Physiques?

you don't want to miss this!

Save the dates! Put some writin' on that brand new calendar of yours! Exciting opportunities are coming in the new year!!

As promised, Reverend Cy Varland and Pastor Gloria Roorda have planned an exciting parenting seminar, taking place on Saturday mornings for the rest of the month of January. Plan to join us on January 10, 17, 24, and 31, from 10 - 11:30 a.m. Topics include Rules and Consequences; Respect; Boredom, Hyperactivity and TV; and Conflict Management. There is no charge to attend the seminars.

Cy and Gloria will also be doing a marriage seminar on Sundays February 8, 15, 22, and March 1 from 6-7:30 p.m. There is also a Marriage Retreat on the weekend of March 13-14. This will be held at the Holiday Inn, and will feature guest speakers Doug and Margie Newton. Be watching for up-coming details, and plan to attend!

Please note, childcare is not provided for these seminars.

jocelyn wants to be a follower. i hope you do, too.

At times like this, I wish I was a geek.

No, really.

Because then I could teach you how to be a follower of MOPS@Northgate by taking magical pictures of the computer screen, and Photoshopping arrows and words and stuff so that you could know what to do.

But I'm not a geek. I was a geek a little more than 12 years ago, but I seem to have outgrown that. Not totally outgrewn, or anything, or I would not be an aspiring geek.

Moving on.

To become a follower, you need to have an account with the googles. So go ye to the googles and create an account. It is easy peasy.

Then, when you are visiting MOPS@Northgate, look at the column on the right. There's the What is MOPS? thingie, and the About Me thingie, and then the Followers thingie. Right under the word Followers, are the words FOLLOW THIS BLOG. Click those words. Then, choose Follow Publicly, or Follow Anonymously.

If you're a blogger, and you're looking for traffic, then you should follow publicly, so people can see your picture, click it, and go visit you. That's why you'll see my sort-of-wonky picture with fuzzed out trees and a blue and white striped sweater. Because I likes me some bloggy traffic. And the other current follower? Super cool Sue Smith, the gal who so kindly offered to take those horrific photos of me from Tuesday's meeting. And not that the word horrific has anything to do with her mad skillz, but did you see those pictures?

If you're lucky, I'll take a really, truly flattering picture of you and post it here.

Like this one:


Or this one:


Hi, Courtney. Just kidding. That's not Courtney. Or is it?

And when you become a follower of MOPS@Northgate, MOPS@Northgate will become a follower of you.

And then we'll just run around in circles.

how to make a pop up card

Big thanks to Sandra for teaching us how to make pop-up cards that are ornaments. Or are they ornaments that are cards? You decide. Here's what we did.

You will need plain cardstock, and pretty cardstock, a piece of ribbon about six inches long, a photo, scissors, a pencil, a ruler (if you like straight lines), and glue.

Fancy.


A paper cut? Already?

Amateur.



When you fold your papers, make sure the top part of the card
(which is on the bottom in this picture, sorry about that)
has more of the pretty paper than the bottom.

In other words, fold the plain paper in half, and fold the pretty
paper so that the top part is bigger than the bottom part.

Got that?



Here is where we make magic. Or something.

Make two cuts, about 3/4 inch long, perpendicular to the fold of the pretty paper.

If you are like me, you'll enjoy using a ruler so it's all very neat and orderly.





This poor woman has been trapped in her house with
three awfully crabby children for nearly two weeks.

Send help.

Sometimes help looks like coffee or truffles.
I'm just saying.



Back to that help request.











Some people can follow directions, and
brought pictures to MOPS this week.

Not me.

That's why you're admiring other people's cards right about now.







And that, my friends, is how to make a fancy pop-up card.

easy quiche recipe

Easy Quiche
(thanks, Courtney!)

• 1 10 oz package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained
• 1/2 cup minced onion
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3/4 cup bisquick
• 3 eggs
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
  

Preheat oven to 400 and lightly grease 9 inch pie dish. Mix broccoli, onion, green pepper and cheese in the pie dish. Beat milk, bisquick, eggs, salt & pepper with hand mixer until smooth. Pour over the veggie and cheese mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown and then let stand for five minutes before serving.