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Entry bubble Holiday Cooking

By: Joanne | December 16, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

turkey dinner on a plateI’ve been obsessed with two things this week: finding a store with a Nintendo Wii in stock, and cooking. I got the Wii on Sunday – I sat in the store parking lot for an hour before they opened. I am a one woman Christmas shopping commando.

I’m cooking in preparation for the holidays. My husband’s whole family will be in town. Luckily his brother lives close to us, so we won’t have an overwhelming amount of house guests, but when we’re all together, we add up to 12 hungry mouths to feed. I try to prepare as much food as I can in advance, so I have time to enjoy being with my family.

This weekend I made freezer rolls and three kinds of soup: a free-form veggies and beans, curried peanut, and corn chowder.

My big challenge will be a big, sit down dinner on Christmas Eve. We’ll have turkey, gravy, stuffing, green beans, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, salad, and I’m still undecided on an entrée for the vegetarians. I’m thinking of a bean dish, but will have to put a little more thought into the holiday menu. Let me know if you’ve got ideas.

I still have to figure out when to take the turkey out of the freezer, but I’m sure the Meat and Poultry hotline can help me with that and remember, if you’re planning on bringing some of that killer jam you made this summer when you fly to grandma’s, remember that airline security applies to food, too.

| Post a Comment | View Comments [2] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: christmas   family   food   holiday   joanne   soup  

 

Entry bubble Flag Day and Father's Day, A Busy Weekend

By: Nicole | June 13, 2008 | Category: General

Wow, we have a lot to celebrate this weekend. Saturday, June 14, is Flag Day. And of course, Sunday, June 15, is Father's Day.

U.S. FlagFlag Day recognizes the day in 1777 when a Congressional resolution officially adopted our beloved stars and stripes as the U.S flag. However, celebration of this day didn’t begin until nearly a century later. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, there are at least three different claims for the origin of Flag Day. Some believe the tradition began in predominantly immigrant communities in Hartford, CT; others say it originated in a school in New York; still others say the Colonial Dames in Philadelphia are responsible. Pennsylvania does hold the honor of being the only state that recognizes Flag Day as a legal holiday. If you want to know more about our flag, check out our publication on the subject.

The origin of Father’s Day is a little more straight forward. Sonora Dodd proposed the idea of Father’s Day to honor her father, a Civil War veteran who raised Sonora and her five siblings after his wife passed away. Father’s Day was first celebrated on June 19, 1910 and was made a permanent holiday in 1972. Since then, Father’s Day has become a time to recognize the many different father figures in our lives.

Family Cook-OutFor my family, that will mean a good ole fashioned cook-out, topped off by a rich slice of white chocolate-raspberry cheesecake. What are your Father’s Day customs?




| View Comments [1] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: celebrate   family   fathers   flag   holidays   u.s.  

 

Entry bubble Family Medical Leave Act Basics

By: Sommer | March 28, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

I first heard about the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in one of my college classes. Needless to say, my husband and I havepregnant woman talking to a male coworker discussed this little law a lot around the house recently. Since I work for Uncle Sam I don’t get “maternity leave” per se, but I have been able to save up enough vacation to use while I’m off work with the baby. Luckily I won’t have to take unpaid leave under FMLA to spend time with my newborn. My husband isn’t that lucky though; he just took a new job last fall. And, since his company doesn’t offer paid paternity leave, he’ll have to invoke his FMLA rights and take unpaid time off if he decides to take extended leave to welcome the baby home.

Here are some details about your rights under FMLA:

  • The Clinton Administration enacted the FMLA in 1993.
  • The main purpose of the law is to grant eligible employees up to 12 workweeks, per 12 month period, of unpaid family and temporary medical leave under the following circumstances:
    • birth and care of the newborn child;
    • adoption or taking a child into foster care;
    • care for an immediate family member (spouse, child, or parent) with a serious health condition; or
    • personal medical leave when the employee cannot work because of a serious health condition.
  • Your employer must give you your original job back once you return to work. If your employer has filled your job in your absence or, for some reason it's no longer available, your employer must provide you with a job that’s equal in pay, benefits and responsibility.
  • You’re also entitled to all your employee benefits while you’re out.

| View Comments [5] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: employee   family   job   law   leave   maternity   paternity   sommer   work  

 

Entry bubble Choosing Child Care

By: Sommer | March 07, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Now that I’m about 5 weeks from my son being born my husband and I are talking more and more about the type of child care we’ll use when I return to work later this summer. We know we have a few options including using the child care center that’s in the GSA buildingbabysitter holding one baby and entertaining two others where I work (I’m on the waiting list so we’ll see if I get in!). Other options include finding a home day care, a child care center closer to home or to my husband’s job, or hiring a nanny.

I’ve been searching for resources to help us make a choice and there’s quite a bit out there. Here are some of the helpers I’ve found most useful:

I’d love your advice on smoothing the transition between staying home with my baby and returning to work. I know many of you out there must have a lot of experience since most mothers these days return to work after having children.

| View Comments [0] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: baby   babysitter   child   childcare   daycare   family   mother   nanny   sommer   work  

 

Entry bubble Tax Rebates for Americans

By: Sommer | February 15, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

Tax Refund Check Envelope


Tax season this year is the most exciting one for me and my husband yet since we’ll itemize so we can take our first ever mortgage interest deduction. And, in May we’ll be among the millions of Americans who will also receive the famed tax rebate checks the government has talked about for the last month.

In order to qualify, Americans will have had to file their 2007 tax returns. The IRS will then use your return to determine your eligibility for the rebate. They anticipate that singles with incomes under $75,000 will receive a maximum of $600 and for married people with incomes under $150,000 the checks will max out at $1,200. Households will also receive $300 additional for each dependent child under 17. Low-income Americans and beneficiaries of certain government programs have special eligibility.

Keep your eyes open for fraud since this new rebate provides the perfect opportunity for scamsters to take advantage of the unsuspecting public. The IRS will not call or email taxpayers about these payments! If you receive a scam email forward it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov. Remember that the IRS will only contact you by mail about these payments.

Now that we’ve got business taken care of, I want to know what you’re planning to do with your check. Will you go on a vacation, invest it, use it to pay off debt or something else? We’re planning to use ours to start a college savings plan for our new son.

| View Comments [23] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: family   irs   money   rebate   refund   sommer   taxes  

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