CPRMom

The Official Girl Scout Cookie Sale for Girl Scouts of the Green & White Mountains begins on January 1, 2010. Girls and Troops in New Hampshire and Vermont will be selling cookies to raise money for their troops. Girls will be going door to door selling cookies in January and early February. Mid-February through mid-March Troops will be hold Cookie Booth Sales. You can check out all the varieties of Girl Scout Cookies offered by our GS Council here . Girl Scouting has specific safety rules for the girls to follow when doing door to door sales. Thus many girls are only able to take orders on the weekends and may not be able to visit every home in their neighborhood. If you are in NH or VT and would like to place an order you can contact the Girl Scouts of the Green & White Mountains Council office and they will take your information and have a local troop get in touch with you to take your order.

Lately I feel that I've been in a cooking rut. I'm always cooking the same things. So today when I finally checked my email I found this yummy looking recipe in my inbox: This is "Ham and Cheese Foldover Sandwiches" from the Bisquick website. Of course when I make it, it looks nothing like the picture. Mine looks like: And of course I omitted the Dijon mustard (which I don't have and no one in my house really likes anyway), and I substituted Cheddar cheese for the Swiss, which again is an ingredient I didn't have. And the recipe called for thin deli slices of ham and used dices leftovers from my Christmas ham. Anyway, it came out good! The kids liked it which is all that mattered.

I drive by this several times a week and have been wondering what it was. I was thinking funky wind turbine, some sort of antenna.... A friend today confirmed it was a wind turbine. If anyone knows where in Southeastern NH or Southern Maine you can find these please post! I'm rather interested in this as it would take a much smaller footprint than a traditional wind mill. Apologies for the crooked pic, took the shot w/ my phone leaning over the passenger seat to catch it through the open passenger window of my car while waiting at the traffic light.

I saw an article in the paper today, the demand for donations to local charities has gone up, but so have the donations. There was a great picture of a local food pantry that I've the fortune to visit with my Girl Scout Troop. Many non-profit and charity groups provide a wealth of services to our communities. One we don't often think about are toy banks. Christmas is just days away, and local toy banks are still struggling to meet the need of families who are just not financially able to provide Christmas gifts to their children. We see the trees with gift request tags at banks, credit union, churches and other businesses; as well as donation boxes at shops and in our workplaces. But have you taken a moment to pick a tag or purchase a gift to donate? Many of these requests are not selfish requests for electronic toys, but rather "A warm coat that fits me", "personal care items for a teenage girl" or "size 3 diapers". These aren't necessa...

Borrowed from a CPR instructors group on Google Groups that I belong to: If I want a beer and I pump the keg 5 times and pour 1 lousy beer, the pressure drops back down (G1992) If you and I team up and pump the keg 15 times and pour 2 OK beers, pressure still drops (G2000) If we team up and pump the keg 30 times we get 2 really good beers (G2005) If we pump the keg 50 or 100 times it kills us before we get a beer (50:1 & 100:1 studies) This ends our beer keg to heart anatomy and physiology lesson for today. Interesting analogy on the progression of compressions to ventilation ratios.

EMS Dinner!

When the heart cannot pump blood efficiently or effectively to the body it is called Congestive Heart Failure . This can be caused by narrowed arteries leading into the heart, damage to the heart muscle, scarring on the heart and infection. Over a half a million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with Congestive Heart Failure each year and it is estimated that almost 5 million people lead normal lives with this diagnosis. Signs and symptoms of Congestive Heart Failure can include: * Early fatigue with exercise or activity * Difficulty breathing with activity or when lying down * Swelling of the ankles and lower legs These symptoms are caused by a build up of fluid as blood returning to the heart cannot be pumped efficiently through the heart. Diagnosis of Congestive Heart Failure can only be made by a physician. Treatment option can include rest, modification of activity, proper diet and medication. Many people are able to live normal lives with mild to moderate Congesti...

Bright shining decorations make the Holiday season colorful and festive. These same decorations can also be dangerous if they are damaged or used incorrectly. Before putting up electrical strings of lights check them for exposed and frayed wires or cracked light sockets . Replace any damaged wires with new UL approved light strings. Don't put up electrical light strings with nails or staples . Use clips or hooks that are designed for holiday decorations. Don't use indoor holiday light strings outdoors . Indoor light strings are not designed for outdoor use and may not hold up to the outdoor weather. Check the packaging or directions on light displays to see how many strings you can safely connect together. Some brands may have a limit on how many strings you can safely connect. Lastly if you are using outdoor electrical decorations make sure they are plugged into a properly installed outdoor outlet and any extension cords you are using are approved for outdoor use. For more inf...