The Morning Show with Mike & Susan

On Monday Jon is joining Susan while Mike takes some family time….we’re going to be talking about those everyday miracles in our life - those little things that are so very special and important - and we’re giving thanks for what those everyday miracles have meant to us!  We’d love to hear about yours…you can comment on our fan page on Facebook or if you want to just comment here…we’d love to share your Everyday Miracles too!

Our KSBJ President and CEO, Tim McDermott has challenged us as a staff to work at trying to put balance back into our life.  He talked about the three elements of our getting balance.  He had us think of them like a tripod….each leg needs to be balanced with the others or it will be tilted and could even fall.

The first is Physical  - you can work on getting more exercise or being careful of what you are eating…even making sure that you are getting the sleep and rest that you need.

Then mental - he encouraged us to work at really trying to read and expand our minds - not just for the sake of the job…but to increase our own knowledge.

and last and certainly not least - Spiritual - to be reading the Bible, working on our prayer life and finding ways to deepen our relationship with the Lord.

He’s right, when you get too caught up in one of these to the detriment of the others - you’re off balance.  And if you ignore one of these you will find yourself off balance and not as healthy.

We’ve picked up the challenge to find a way to do one of each of these each day for the next 30 days and see if we can’t find more balance and more joy in our life.

So this week I went with my daughter and two of our friends to the Nutcracker Market at the Reliant Arena…it’s shopping on steroids!   But, while we were looking through all of the booths and stopping to taste everything that had a crowd in front of it!  We were having a blast!

While we were walking aisle after aisle we found ourselves singing (and dancing) along with the traditional Christmas music that was being piped in - before you know it our quartet was singing out to the smiles and stares of the people around us. 

It felt like Christmas…all of the decorations that were up and then the music!  It reminded me of the way you feel as a little child when the season is beginning.  I FELT Christmas!  The anticipation, and the fun and childlike sense of excitement….it was the music!

I know that the girls that were with me were feeling it too…because we were all singing out like we didn’t care who heard or saw us having fun!  We laughed and we danced and we acted like kids! I loved it.  Traditional Christmas songs were blasting away like White Christmas, Let it Snow Let it Snow….Holly Jolly Christmas. 

It made me think about the music that KSBJ will begin playing the day after Thanksgiving.  It makes you feel in the Christmas spirit…reminds you of Christmases when you were a child.  It sticks with you…and you stick with it!  That’s the whole reason why we play the music we play from Thanksgiving through Christmas…it attracts people and they stay because it FEELS like Christmas and because of that they STAY…and when they stay we get the chance to tell them exactly WHO Christmas is all about. 

I’m praying that the people who come to KSBJ for the Christmas music will stay for the More CHRISTmas we can offer…because we know Jesus is the Reason for the Season.  When you know not just that he’s the reason for the season…but when you KNOW HIM!  Oh! what a feeling!!

Tomorrow on the show, we want to tell you about the challenge we’ve taken at the station for 30 days of improving our balancing act.  There are three legs to your life and if you don’t work on all three areas…you can’t get balance in your life.  We’ll talk about what they are and how we can improve life in general —- in 30 days!

First, you can do it the old fashioned way. Remember the days of checking the newspaper ads.

Second, you can search for online coupons for whatever you are shopping to buy. There are coupons for just about everything these days. You can even find some free stuff. I say a coupon for a free roast beef at Arby’s the other day.

Fourth, you can search on line for the best price. This is the best method of insuring that you are getting the best price for whatever you are shopping for. WalMart saves 60% of their cost of goods sold when the purchase is made online. Hence, they will now ship the product to the store for you to pick up in the store for free. No shipping and since most of us go to WalMart (some 265,000,000 weekly) regularly we can get the product sent to us for free and not pay anything additional by having to drive out of our way to pick it up. But, what if WalMart doesn’t have the best price, and often they don’t.

The Internet is rigged.  Here’s how: merchants pay to come up early in any search. So, the first three to six pages for any search are there because they have paid to be there. It has nothing to do with whether than have the best price. And, did you know that 95% of all purchases are made on the first three pages of a search. Doesn’t insure that you are getting a bargain basement price for the item.

To go beyond the first three pages in your search can take hours. A friend recently needed a camera lens. He searched for two hours to find what he thought was the best price. Did he find it? He paid $249 for the lens. But did he get the best price? He thought he did.

We talked about how your brain is better on laughter. It’s true clowning around improves memory, mood, and motivation. A good knee-slapper also produces a chemical reaction that instantly elevates your mood, reduces pain and stress, and boosts immunity according to research at Stanford University.

So, what makes YOU laugh?!

I call them funeral potatoes because we used to have them at every funeral dinner at a church I attended in Oklahoma.  Becky doesn’t call them this…but…well, they’re great!  We had to share the recipe! Thanks Becky! 

Susan

Becky Chandler Kankelfritz

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Baking Time: 45 minutes

Ingredient List:

2 pounds hashbrowns, thawed
1/2 cup of chopped onions
1 cup (8 ounces) of dairy sour cream
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can cream of mushroom or chicken soup

Cornflake Topping:

1/4 cup of melted butter
2 cups crushed cornflakes

Bakeware Needed:

1 9″ x 13″ glass baking dish

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Step 2: Coat your glass baking dish with butter or non-stick vegetable cooking spray.

Step 3: Gather all of your ingredients and finely chop the onion to make 1/2 cup.

Step 4: In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the remaining ingredients and mix until well incorporated.

Step 6: Spoon into your greased baking dish and press the mixture flat into the corners.

Step 7: Bake the potato mixture at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Step 8: In a bowl combine the crushed cornflakes and 1/4 cup melted butter.

Step 9: Sprinkle the cornflake mixture evenly over the top of the potato casserole.

Step 10: Bake at 350 degrees for an additional 15 minutes.

You buy the frozen southern style hashbrowns for this recipe, not the shredded hashbrowns. One bag is all you need, it is 32 oz., I think.
I also added some fresh, chopped garlic to the casserole I made for KSBJ. Probably about 2 cloves, and I didn’t bother with crushing the cornflakes. I don’t think it’s necessary. Have fun!

So what are the kids writing on their list this Christmas? Here’s the latest list of Hot Toys…

The Girl of the year American Girl Doll

PSP

PS3

Barbie Twilight, Bella & Edward Dolls

Fisher-Price Kid Tough Digital Camera 2009 (Pink or Blue)

Tomy - Cella Sticker Machine

Baby alive learns to potty!!

Elmo Live

Catcha Beast, Bandai

Webkins

The Hottest toy the one you’ll see people waiting in line for hours to get from the latest shipment….is….. Zhu Zhu pets.  Battery operated hamsters that can be outfitted with the old exercise wheel and tunnels for extra….These little guys do everything a real hamster does except leave ’something’ behind in their bed.

The eight worst things that you can say in an interview (from CareerBuilder.com). If you walk into the interview prepared, you can make sure you know what right things to say, and you can stop yourself from saying the following wrong things.

1. “I hated my last boss.” Your last boss was a miserable person whose main concern was making your life miserable. Of course you don’t have a lot of nice things to say; however, don’t mistake honesty, which is admirable, for trash-talking, which is despicable.
2. “I don’t know anything about the company.” Chances are the interviewer will ask what you know about the company. If you say you don’t know anything about it, the interviewer will wonder why you’re applying for the job and will probably conclude you’re after money, not a career.
3. “No, I don’t have any questions for you.” Much like telling the interviewer that you don’t know anything about the company, saying you don’t have any questions to ask also signals a lack of interest. Perhaps the interviewer answered every question or concern you had about the position, but if you’re interested in a future with this employer, you can probably think of a few things to ask. “I’m going to need to take these days off.” “We all have lives and commitments and any employer that you would even consider working for understands this. If you progress to an offer stage, this is the time for a discussion regarding personal obligations,” Moran suggests. “Just don’t bring it up prior to the salary negotiation/offer stage.”
4. Why? By mentioning the days you need off too early in the interview, you risk coming off presumptuous as if you know you’ll get the job.
5. “How long until I get a promotion?” While you want to show that you’re goal-oriented, be certain you don’t come off as entitled or ready to leave behind a job you don’t even have yet.
6. “Are you an active member in your church?” As you attempt to make small talk with an interviewer, don’t cross the line into inappropriate chitchat. Avoid topics that are controversial or that veer too much from work.
7. “As Lady Macbeth so eloquently put it…” Scripted answers, although accurate, don’t impress interviewers. Not only do they make you sound rehearsed and stiff, they also prevent you from engaging in a dialogue.
8. “And another thing I hate…” Save your rants for your blog. When you’re angry, you don’t sway anybody’s opinion about a topic, but you do make them like you less. For one thing, they might disagree with you. They also won’t take kindly to your bad attitude.

GOOD EATS ROAST TURKEY RECIPE (got it from Alton Brown)

Ingredients

• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions

Click here to see how it’s done.

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you’d like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey’s cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.