Dozens of children go missing in Eastern Panhandle following crippling snow; parents surprisingly subdued, satiated

Dozens of children have been reported missing in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia following a crippling snowstorm that dumped nearly three feet of snow in the area, requiring residents to shelter in place.

Charles Town Police became suspicious when they noticed a sharp decline in the number of 911 calls from parents who had had enough and were begging to be dug out of their homes for fear of harming their children, many of whom had not been outside for days. One parent had been telephoning almost hourly up until the day before yesterday when all calls ceased.

"The screaming and the bickering was quite overwhelming," said Suzi Crowder, mother of Sophie, 8, Max, 5, and Carly, 3 (pictured above). "Most days I can handle it with a combination of medication and aggressive wine therapy, but after being shut in with them for nearly five days straight, I just kind of snapped."

Crowder, who offered no explanation as to her children's whereabouts, appeared surprisingly calm as she led police through her home in the Locust Hill subdivision. There was no evidence of a forced entry; however, the home was in complete disarray. Toys were strewn about, laundry was piled up to the ceiling and dirty dishes covered nearly every inch of counter space. A police officer was seen bagging up a dog-eared version of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal," which appeared to be covered in a red substance, reportedly Frank's Hot Sauce.

No suspects have been taken in for questioning as it appears no crime has been committed. Police remain baffled. Persons with information on the children's whereabouts are urged to keep it to themselves.

My heart belongs to Fresh & Easy this Valentine's Day

When my e-friend, Allison, from Fresh & Easy asked if I'd be interested in sampling some sweet treats just in time for Valentine's Day, I was all too willing to oblige! I started banking calories at my fitness boot camp in anticipation of my package's arrival!

Unfortunately, a nasty stomach bug worked its way through my family and derailed my taste-test plans, but once the family recovered, I got to work.

If you recall from my earlier post, Fresh & Easy grocery stores currently are providing reasonably-priced, wholesome foods to customers in Arizona, California and Nevada. They offer a wide range of their own brand products and prepared meals that contain no artificial colors, flavors or trans fat, without the hefty price tag commonly associated with healthy foods. Additionally, they carry many top name brand products to meet families' needs.

My recent care package contained a couple bottles of wine, Swiss truffles, a chocolate bar and snickerdoodles.

Let it be known, I'm no stranger to wine, and enjoy most varieties, but I have a soft spot in my heart for Shiraz. You can imagine my joy when I found a bottle of McGuigan Hand Made Barossa Shiraz nestled in the shipping box. Made from Shiraz grapes grown in the Barossa region of South Australia, I immediately noticed the fruity aroma when I uncorked the bottle. I'm used to a more peppery Shiraz, so the rich plum and berry tastes were a bit of a surprise, but not at all unpleasant. Although the folks from Fresh & Easy recommended that the wine be served with red meat or mature cheeses, I paired mine with some Wensleydale cheese with cranberries that was left over from Christmas and the tartness of the cranberries seemed to mellow the fruitiness of the wine. Before I knew it, the bottle and the cheese were both gone! (Note: Lest you think I'm a lush, my mom and dad, Sue and Larry Homemaker, joined me!)


The Montcadi Cava Rose sparkling wine screams "Valentine's Day," with it's rich, rose color, strawberry aroma and playful bubbles. Made from grapes grown in Spain's Cava region, I can easily see this wine paired with a nice pasta with shrimp or chicken and a tomato cream sauce (I think I just decided my menu for V-day!), although it would work well with light appetizers and most any meal. Both of these wines currently are on sale for $8.99 and $4.99 (can you believe it?) respectively.

The Sweet Boutique Gourmet Swiss Truffles were so creamy and delicious that I had to hide them from my kids. Go eat your M&M's, kiddos, these heavenly chocolates are reserved for Daddy and me!!! I especially liked the fact that they easily can be split in two for the calorie-conscious consumer, tho I much preferred to pop them whole in my mouth (I did drop a few pounds with that stomach bug, so I needed to recoup)! A bargain at $3.99, these little gems are the perfect gift for your sweetheart.

For Valentines who prefer a more robust (translation = LARGE) chocolate, there is the Fresh & Easy One Huge Hunk Chocolate Bar with Pecans and Fruit. I cannot recall ever seeing a chocolate bar as large as this one--almost sent me into a sugar-induced coma just looking at it! Made with smooth Belgian milk chocolate, I had no trouble sharing this sweet treat with the Homemaker offspring, as there was more than enough for the three of them, myself, my hubby and the mail carrier, not to mention the rest of the kids on the block.

The Fresh & Easy Snickerdoodle Cookies included in the package made me mad at my mother, as they reminded me that she forgot to make my grandmother's recipe this year for Christmas. Snickerdoodles are my all-time favorite cookie, and next to my Baba's, these rank right up there on the Taste-O-Meter, just ahead of the ones I recall served with the spaghetti and meat sauce lunch at South Lake Elementary School. Ahh, memories...sigh!

Valentine's Day is a little under two weeks away, so that gives you plenty of time to scoot on over to your neighborhood Fresh & Easy market to pick up some great-tasting, wholesome and affordable gifts. A gourmet gift from Fresh & Easy is sure to pay off with plenty of hugs and kisses from your Valentine!

Susan G. Komen fundraiser--yes, I cheated!!!

Today (or I guess yesterday is more accurate since it's after midnight!) I participated in a fundraiser for some friends who are participating in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk in October (it's not cheating--it's all toward the greater good!).

It was a nice event--a vendor showcase at a local hotel. Unfortunately, Mother Nature decided to leave her calling card and whallup us with eight inches of snow!! Still, I met a lot of nice people and had the opportunity to learn more about one of my friend's previous walks. I was telling her how emotional I get whenever I receive a donation and said I am probably going to be crying the entire weekend of the walk. She started telling me some of her stories. She told me how people cheer you on and at the end of the walk, participants will remove one of their shoes and hold them up in tribute to people who have battled breast cancer. She also told me how the first year, a man came up to her crying and hugged and thanked her for walking for his wife who had died just a month earlier. The next thing I know I'm bawling right there.

It just further reinforced what I knew when I signed up for the event: This is going to be an amazing and emotional journey. Thanks for joining me as I travel down this path toward putting an end to this disease.

oxox
Suzi

Suzi Homemaker to donate 10% of 'pink' sales toward Avon 2-Day!!

Now through the end of February, Suzi Homemaker is donating 10 percent of website sales of anything pink or stitched with pink thread toward the Avon 2-Day Walk for Breast Cancer.

I registered to do this walk because I know seven women who have battled this disease and I also had a scare this past Fall. Thankfully, I am fine, but I want to help find a cure so that the next generation of women (my daughters included) will no longer live in fear of this disease.

Just go to my retail site, and order your personalized pink snack square, lunch box, market tote, duffel bag, what have you, and not only will you receive a special gift, but you also will help a great cause!

In it to end it, Baby. In it to end it!!!!

Novica.com now offering microloans to world artisans

Obtaining capital to run a small business is tough enough in this economy, but imagine being an entrepreneur in an underdeveloped country where funding is nonexistent.

A couple months back, I wrote a post on Novica.com. Novica, in association with National Geographic, provides a platform for artists and artisans from underprivileged nations to sell their wares--including home decor items, handbags, jewelry and other gifts--to a global audience.

Now, in an effort to further support these artisans, Novica has launched the first-ever microfinance or microcredit website where customers can purchase products and lend money directly to artisans. Microcredit is the extension of very small loans to those in poverty and is designed to spur entrepreneurship. When Novica tried to put artisans in touch with microfinance institutions, most could not obtain loans and when they did, the interest rates were too high. Novica decided to cut out the financial middleman and offer the loans on the website.

Just click on the Novica Artisan Loans button on the lefthand side of the home page, then scroll to the bottom of the page and click on View All Available Loans. You then will see the list of all artisan loan requests along with a brief biography. If you are interested in loaning to an artist, simply click on the Donate Now button next to their biography. When a specific loan request is completely filled, Novica releases the funds to the artisan through their local office. The artisan repays the interest-free loan based on the repayment terms and at the end of the loan period the lenders receive their funds back. As with any loan, there is a slight risk that you will not get your money back; however, all artisans selected for the loan program are actively selling on Novica and are believed to not pose any threat of defaulting.

Many artisans in the Novica microfinance program already have had their loans fully funded and are now using the funds to purchase materials to continue their craft. One such artist, Sukartini, recently received her funds.

"Today I work together with local silversmiths to promote Bali's beauty in our own way," she said. "We make different kinds of jewelry, mostly with sterling silver, in both traditional and modern styles. I was fortunate to find Novica, a place where small artisans like me can share our new ideas and designs, and have a chance to be appreciated by people from all over the world."

Now is the perfect time to show your appreciation for the many talented artisans featured on the Novica site--either through purchasing their handiwork or by helping them fulfill their dream through the Artisan Loan Program. Stop by the site, and experience for yourself the stories of the artists behind the creations while picking up some unique gifts for the loved ones in your life or for yourself.

Make the holidays Fresh & Easy

Saturday brought the first snowfall of the season, and while the kids played outside, I decided to tuck into a nice bottle of red wine (Note: Hubby was dutifully tending to the kids!) and some gourmet food items from Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market.

Fresh & Easy grocery stores currently are providing reasonably-priced, wholesome foods to customers in Arizona, California and Nevada. They offer a wide range of their own brand products and prepared meals that contain no artificial colors, flavors or trans fat, without the hefty price tag commonly associated with healthy foods. Additionally, they carry many top name brand products to meet families' needs.

In addition to high-quality foods, Fresh & Easy also offers around 170 different wines from around the globe, ranging in price from $1.99 to $40 per bottle, with the majority retailing for under $10.

The wine I sampled was The Vine Yard 2007 Cabernet Franc. From Washington's Columbia Valley, this delightful cab franc was redolent of raspberry jam, black cherry and spice. It was not as dry as you would expect from a blending grape and would pair nicely with beef, pork, poultry or even pizza (I enjoyed it with some white chili). At $7.99 a bottle, it's a great little wine to have on hand for holiday get-togethers.

Another great wine for this time of year is the Ogio Prosecco Spumante. I'm not usually a fan of sparkling wines, but I do indulge on New Year's, and this peppy little number definitely fits the bill! At $8.99 a bottle, it easily rivals more expensive spumantes or champagnes and makes the perfect hostess gift!

Speaking of gifts, Fresh & Easy also offers a number of gourmet food items that are attractively-packaged and ready to present to teachers, mail carriers or anyone else on your list. The Sweet Boutique Gourmet Swiss Chocolate Assortment would satisfy the most discerning sweet tooth with 11 different varieties of filled milk, dark and white chocolates. The Sweet Boutique Assortment currently is featured at Fresh & Easy's Kitchen Table, where each week customers can sample and review delicious signature dishes and treats. At $6.99 a box, buy several to have in case your husband forgets to pick up a Secret Santa gift for the office holiday party.

Another item from the Sweet Boutique is the Gourmet Biscuit Collection--a decadent assortment of cookies adorned with rich, Belgian chocolate. My oldest, Sophie, found the miniature, chocolate-covered Tsar cookies especially palatable and has been requesting a few for dessert the past few nights, whereas I prefer the lighter Cristal wafers. This is another inexpensive yet elegantly-packaged gift item priced at $7.99 per tin.

Perhaps the biggest hit of the day was the container of Fresh & Easy Cranberry & Nut Popcorn Clusters. Everyone in the house, from ages three to 46 enjoyed this delightful blend of popcorn, three different nuts and dried cranberries, all perfectly-sweetened with brown sugar and natural maple flavors. Any time I can get my kids to eat a fruit that's not on their "safe" list I consider it a triumph, especially one as humble as the cranberry which is rich in vitamin C and believed to contain excellent infection fighting properties.

For all of my friends out west, I encourage you to make your holidays fresh and easy by scooting over to Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market. I, in the meantime, am savoring the last remnants of my Fresh & Easy goodie basket and have filled out the online form suggesting that the company open a store in Charles Town, WV, where it's nearly impossible to find wholesome, reasonably-priced foods.

A picture is worth '1,000 Artist Journal Pages'

Remember doodling as a child when even if you couldn't spell all of the words you still could tell a story through pictures? They say "a picture is worth a thousand words," yet it seems once we master basic writing skills we forget that.

Guilty as charged.

I can remember as a young girl writing in my diaries and drawing little pictures to illustrate my deepest thoughts and "secrets." Eventually I stopped drawing pictures, but continued to keep journals well into adulthood. After Sophie was born, I took zillions of pictures and kept them in precious photo albums, pulling them out to wander visually through her first days with us. My journaling became sporadic. Then came Max, and there was less time for pictures and writing as I struggled to keep up with a busy toddler, a newborn and a full-time job. Add a third child to the mix, two new businesses, a cat and a messy household and I'm lucky to squeeze out a blog post every now and then.

And that's unfortunate.

I know there's going to come a day when I wake up and find that my kids are grown and I have but a few random blog entries to remind me of this special time in my life. But I have a dear friend who has inspired me to get back on track with my journaling.

Dawn Devries Sokol and I attended college at Arizona State University and worked on the school newspaper together. Dawn is the author of "1,000 Artist Journal Pages".
Art journals are illustrated diaries that correspond with any theme. They can be a record of daily thoughts or dreams and are embellished with drawings, photographs or bits of memorabilia from a treasured or momentous occasion. This gorgeous book is a compilation of journal pages created by artists from around the world. Some are dark, some are sad, some are ethereal, some are funny, some illustrate trips, and some are odes to coffee, foods or a particularly enjoyable meal. All are different and fascinating in their own way and truly inspirational. After poring over this book for hours I found myself itching to journal again.

The holiday season is right around the corner, and it's the perfect time to start journaling or, in my case, to pick it up again. Dawn is offering a workshop titled {12.31} art journal project on her blog which will help you document the holiday season with less stress. As part of {12.31}, you will learn how to create an art journal cover, how to incorporate or "bind in" scraps of paper or poster board and how to prep your pages so they are ready for you to doodle or journal to your heart's content. Once your journal is complete, Dawn will provide a prompt a day to get your creative juices flowing and, since your journal already will be done, all you will have to do is create. The online workshop runs from Nov. 6 through Dec. 31. You can register by clicking here.