Oreo Day

March 6th is Oreo Cookie Day

Yes really, and Oreos are now 105 years old.

I was going to do a program all about Oreos at work yesterday but it turned out to not be a good day to do a cooking program so I will postpone the activity for another day.  I read out loud inspiring stories about pets instead.

I feel a little disloyal talking about Oreos. I have now spent 3 decades promoting and selling Girl Guide Cookies. Twice a year we have cookies. In the fall we sell nice chocolate mint wafer cookies and in March we get sandwich cookies where half the package is chocolate wafers with a fudgy filling and the other half is vanilla wafers with a white filling. I cannot begin to tell you have many cookie based games, teaching lessons, crafts and promotions I have done with kids from 5 to 18. I could easily write a book on just that topic.

Maybe now that I am moving this project to May I should add in a taste test of Girl Guide Sandwich cookies vs Oreos!  I am pretty sure the Girl Guide ones are much more delicious ~ especially when purchased from adorable little girls who are trying to help pay for camp.

My Oreo Day cooking plan is a pretty simple one.

I am going to make up a chocolate instant pudding with the seniors  and also a vanilla pudding. Then I am going to use clear plastic tumblers and layer chocolate, vanilla in the middle and then more chocolate pudding. Top it with a bit of Cool whip, sprinkle with purchased Oreo cookie crumbs and if appropriate top with a mini Oreo cookie.

I like to do pudding based projects occasionally because some people have special needs for soft foods due to swallowing difficulties and so it lets a few more people enjoy the food based session. Besides, pudding is yummy!

Here are some fun links I will be using for a discussion. Be sure to check out the personality one. (It does have a bit of an edge in some of the lines so I would not read it all out loud at work.)

In case you are wondering.. I am a sandwich cookie dunker so the quiz says...
Every one likes you because you are always up beat. You like to sugar coat unpleasant experiences and rationalize bad situations into good ones.

The History of the Oreo

Oreo Fun Facts

How to Eat an Oreo Cookie

Oreo Cookie Personality Test

Pinterest has loads of Oreo cooking ideas from cheesecakes to dips and so much more.

Chocolate covered Oreos with seasonal sprinkles! is one I would like to do myself or perhaps with my older, teenaged, Girl Guides in the near future but using the Girl Guide cookies. grin

How do you eat your sandwich cookies?

Project 11 - Promoting Mental Health Awareness

I attended a key note speech at the conference yesterday. The write-up in the conference brochure did not initially strike me as too exciting. It was a hockey big shot talking about some project that was promoted by the hockey and entertainment power group in this area. I thought " Ha! One more feel good, look good community involvement plug."  but I was so wrong.

The amazing speaker was Craig Heisinger, the senior vice president and director of hockey operations for the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League. Heisinger talked about his close friendship and mentorship with an incredible young player who advanced in hockey and about the player's issues with anxiety, depression and other mental Health issues.

Project 11 is an initiative started in memory and honor of Manitoba Hockey Player Rick Rypien who died of depression at the height of his career. It is a program aimed at students from grades 5 to 8 and designed to promote mental health awareness and teach positive healthy coping skills.
Please Check out their website http://www.projecteleven.ca/ for more information and some inspiration.

The following video is truly excellent. It is well worth watching.

Seating Problems

I feel like Goldilocks - I want to complain about seating.

I have a very sore right hip and leg right now. I can't get comfortable.  The couch is too soft, the reclining chair is too hard the other chair is too low.  I am putting a pillow under my behind on the upright recliner and I have a small rolled up toss blanket behind my back to make things tolerable.

A few years ago. when I had so many issues with my left side. I was having a different set of seating issues. How do I sit down? How do I get up? How do I keep the chair from tipping over?  The chairs needed to be very stable because I was not stable and tending to loose my balance. They needed strong arms for me to push off on. If I sat on the couch I needed to be in the right side corner so that I could  have that arm to help me up because my left arm was not strong enough to get me anywhere.  I wanted the chair  or couch to be on the left side of the TV or where ever the action was because I was seeing better out of my right eye and frankly was recognizing movement better with my right eye due to some lingering left side neglect. I found that I would go to group events and I constantly got given a seat all the way to the right of a long table. I found not only did I not see the people on my left side properly.. I found I had trouble hearing properly from that left ear too. In particular I had trouble discerning whose voice was whose. I tried to turn my head to correct and that just made me dizzy and nauseated.

I find the same thing happens with my stroke friends and other people I know. Seating is undervalued.  Individuals have their own interests and needs and it takes a little effort to accommodate them but the seating can make all the difference to a persons enjoyment and comfort and I would even say their quality of life. 

People like to be near their friends, People like to sit away from people they don't care for. Some individuals like to sit close so they can get a view or where the best lighting it and others like to sit close enough to hear the best they can.  Music systems with their amplification might seem great for people with hearing loss but their hearing aids might react badly to the louder sound range and those individuals not only want to be far away from the amps, they want to be out of the room!

What chair feels good? Is this wheel chair easy to move? Can we get a comfortable cushion for the wheel chair seat? (they are unbelievably expensive) 

How about a bed that is at the right height to get in and out of with comfort and maybe a grab bar to help the process?  Clothes they will not get caught up when you are trying to slide in and out might be helpful.

My former physiotherapist spent a few of our appointments teaching me how to drive a scooter. It was kind of embarrassing and fun all at the same time. She ran ahead of me in the hospital hallway yelling.. "Beginner driver! Get out of the way!" I was not talented at going Rabbit speed or Turtle speed which were the two options on the scooters. She said I better work on recovering fast and walking again because I was not a safe driver. Considering my vision issues at the time it was brave of her to take me out in the public!
The fact is the scooters and powered wheel chairs have a lot of different options, and for some people they can provide so much independence and freedom. Potential users do need an opportunity to learn how to use them properly and safely and the vehicles do need to be physically a good "fit".

We also can try and work on exercises to help us in recovery and in maintain  our strength so we can get out of those chairs. Yes.. that is what I have to do again- I have to work on getting my back and hip stronger according to my current physiotherapist.

I will work hard at getting stronger again  but I might just need to purchase a different comfy chair.