Linn County Public Health has recommended stricter standards for hospital visits this year due to H1N1 and the flue season.  Both Mercy Medical Center and St. Luke’s will be altering policies starting Friday.  Some of the changes include no children visitors, no visitors displaying any flu-like symptoms, and a postponement of school tours and sibling birth classes among others.  You can learn more through this Gazette article.

Posted: October 14th, 2009 under Uncategorized.
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Recently, I’ve seen a lot of articles and series on improving something over 30 or so days.  “31 Days to a Better Blog” or “30 Days to a Better Man” are a few that I’ve seen.  And it got me thinking about what I could do for 30 days.  So I decided I would embark on a personal challenge: “30 days to being a better husband.”  The challenge I laid out for myself was this: for 30 days, I was going to serve my wife and try to be a better husband by doing something different and special for her each day.  I chronicled each day of the project in a blog online.  Yesterday was the last day of my experiment, so this morning, I emailed the link for the blog to my wife, to let her know what I’d been secretly working on for the last month.  It was definitely a challenge, but it was also fun and an chance to learn more about my wife, and myself.

So now, I’m going to throw down the gauntlet and challenge you.  Set aside 30 days and come up with something special to do for him or her each day.  And then, if you want, let me know how it goes.

Posted: October 13th, 2009 under Crazy Stuff, Life at the Lansers', Show Notes.
Comments: 3

Mary shares how Diana showed up in her life when she needed her the most.

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Posted: October 9th, 2009 under Friend for Life, Show Notes.
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Growing up, one of the great fall traditions was when my Grandma would come over and she and my mom would spend the day making applesauce.  The house would fill the scent of cooked apples.  Not only was it a great sign of the fall, but it meant we had amazing home-made applesauce to eat the whole year.  So I was excited last year, my wife and I went to an orchard near us to get some apples that we could use to make applesauce.

Since it’s fall, I thought I’d try to help you out if you want to head to an orchard near you and get some apples for applesauce or other fresh fruit.  I’ve put together a map (via Google Maps) that shows quite a few Eastern Iowa Orchards.  Zoom in and out and grab the map to move around and find an orchard near you.

If you have one you enjoy going to that’s not on my map, post it in the comments and I’ll try to add it!  Otherwise, enjoy some family fun and large supply of tasty home-made applesauce! And, if you have any good applesauce recipes you want to share, post them in the comments below! I’ve included two apple recipes from my wife (which I highly suggest)!

Swedish Apple Pie

Fill an 8×8 pan ¾ full of peeled/sliced apples

Sprinkle apples with 3 T sugar and 1 t cinnamon

In a separate bowl mix:

1 c flour

1 c sugar

¾ c melted butter

1 egg

Spoon the mixture over the apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Serve warm
Applesauce

Wash and quarter apples (softer, sweeter varieties work best)
Boil apples until super soft
Run apples through a food mill, grinder, food processor, etc.
Taste – add sugar or cinnamon if you like

View Eastern Iowa Orchards in a larger map

Posted: October 8th, 2009 under Helpful Info, Show Notes.
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No matter who you are, you’ve got a list of things that drive you nuts. Some call them pet peeves. And some of the worst are the words or phrases you just can’t stand. When someone uses those words or phrases in conversation continually, you want to run away and talk to someone else. They did another survey this year to determine what, overall, are the most annoying words and phrases. The answer this year? ‘Whatever.’ So which words or phrases drive you nuts?

Posted: October 8th, 2009 under Crazy Stuff, Show Notes.
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