Simply~A~Snow: July 2012

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Flash mobs...coming to a location close to you???

Hanging out in parking lots, dead end roads and even renting hotel rooms to throw parties were my generation's pastime. In the town that we grew up in there was NOTHING to do other than ride the roads and move from parking lot to parking lot....listen to music and hang out. There was no "big" mischief, only typical teenage experimentation...cigarettes, cheap quart-size beer or Boone's Strawberry Hill.

Looks like the newer generation has found something "better" to do. Flash mobs! I had heard about it but never paid much attention to it until I read a couple of stories today. The incidents took place on opposite ends of the country and both involved teenage/young adults. I watched the videos. and all I can say is I pray I am nowhere with my kids when something like this takes place. I can also say with certainty that if my kids EVER participate in something like this they best make sure their face doesn't show up on youtube.

You read....judge for yourself. Harmless or potential for danger?

"Flash Rob" Targets Troutdale Albertson's
http://www.kgw.com/news/Flash-mob-targets-Troutdale-Albertsons-store-159463245.html

by KGW Staff

Bio | Email | Follow: @KGWNews

kgw.com

Posted on June 18, 2012 at 12:06 PM

Updated today at 10:18 AM

TROUTDALE -- A flash rob group of teens targeted a Troutdale store last weekend and investigators are trying to identify the suspects.
Investigators said as many as 40 kids entered the Albertsons store at 25691 SE Stark Street at the same time late Saturday night and started stealing things.
Raw video: Flash robbery
Security officers chased the thieves out, but no one was captured. They also left employees pretty shaken up, including one woman who was in tears after getting terrorized by the robbers.
Investigators have not said exactly how many items were taken.
"Basically it looks like they went in, just to cause chaos, which they accomplished," said Sgt. Steve Bevens with the Troutdale Police Department.
Investigators believe the suspects ranged in age from 13 to 15. They could be seen on surveillance video, roaming from aisle to aisle.
Customers said the store employees were overwhelmed and outnumbered.
"They [thieves] were bragging and laughing about how much stuff they stole and what they did in the store," one witness told KGW.
If caught, the suspects could face several charges including rioting, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.
This was one of several flash rob-style robberies being investigated in the Portland Metro area over past months.
The robbers emulate the popular and peaceful flash mob gatherings now common throughout the world. Instead of synchronzied entertainment, those in a flash rob use a large gathering as a source of distraction as they commit a crime.

Saturday Night Flash Mob Takes Over Jacksonville Walmart
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-07-17/story/saturday-night-flash-mob-takes-over-jacksonville-wal-mart

By Dan Scanlan

A huge Saturday night house party broken up by police in a North Jacksonville subdivision ended with one man shot in the leg as he and hundreds of other partygoers fled the officers' arrival.
But the party didn't stop at the home in the 12000 block of Sampson Road, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Hundreds of its teenage partyers ignited a flash mob about 90 minutes later at the Walmart Supercenter at 12100 Lem Turner Road. They took over the produce section and caused havoc that was recorded and posted on YouTube.
Officers were called just before 10 p.m. on a report of a "large house party," calling in more units to provide crowd and traffic control, according to the police report. As police were clearing the scene, an officer was alerted to a gunshot victim at Shands Jacksonville who had been shot in the right leg as he was leaving the party.
Slideshow: Mug shots around the First Coast
The 20-year-old Lem Turner Road resident told police he heard several gunshots as he reached Sampson and Percy roads, so he started running. He stumbled and fell, which is when he realized he had been shot. He said he didn't see a gun or anyone who could have shot him since "the crowd of people was so large," according to the report.
Officers at the scene as well as residents who live nearby didn't report hearing any shots.
Several hundred people who left the "massive house party" moved on to the Walmart about 11:20 p.m., and more shots were fired there, according to a second police report. Officers dispatched to the store found out that it had been mobbed, with produce being thrown.
Most of the crowd appeared to be teens on the YouTube video. The flash mob only lasts about three minutes on YouTube, but apparently lasted longer as people are seen riding in shopping carts, throwing items and mugging for the camera.
No identifiable Walmart employee is seen intervening during the video, which ends with at least one person yelling "Hey, let's go to Wendy's" in the parking lot.
Gunshots were apparently fired into the air outside the store, but no cars or people were hit, according to the police report.
A store security scanner at the front door was damaged.

Voting NO to the "O"

"Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.".....President John F. Kennedy

At the time that this historic statement was made by an iconic President, our country and people were a different breed. Sure there were still "good ole Washington Politicians" but America still stood for something and we were a proud people. We still had our struggles with issues regarding Cuba, Russia and Civil Rights, but we still had a moral standard that seems to have simply diminished.

When JFK spoke this historic line it was not a call for us to hand over what we have worked so hard for to someone who sits home watching the soaps, collecting a check and helping to increase the population. To me....this is a call to stand as an American and support our country and constitution.
In November I plan to do just that by voting NO to the O.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Cheesy Beef Bites...Easy Sandwich...Big Batch

Love, Love, LOVE this sandwich!! It also makes up a lot, so it would be a great recipe to fix for casual company, kid sleepovers or just to freeze individually.

What you need:

1 lb of hamburger
1 pkg of french onion soup
2 tbsp of parsley flakes
1/4 c. of water
2 packs of hamburger buns (I got 12 sandwiches out of 1 lb of hamburger)
At least 2 c. shredded cheese (I didn't measure mine)

Before we get started let me first say that the original recipe called for french bread, but I found using hamburger buns to be better for us. This is a great recipe to use left over hamburger buns and hot dog buns....it's just a matter of preference.

While your hamburger meat is cooking, pull your bread of choice out. You want to "hollow-out" the thickest part of your bread which is the top portion on buns.

Once your hamburger meat is fully cooked, drain the grease. Then add the packet of French Onion Soup Mix, two tablespoons of parsley and 1/4 c. of water. Make sure the burner is on low and stir really good. Now all you do is fill the "hollowed out" portion of your bread with the meat mixture.

Then sprinkle with your choice of cheese....Monterrey is fabulous, but I only had cheddar/Monterrey mix

Wrap it nice and neatly......

Pop these babies in the oven for about 10 min on 350 degrees and ENJOY!!!!

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Crockpot Italian Chicken

I got this recipe off of Pinterest and it is DIVINE!!!

6 chicken breasts
1 packet Zesty Italian dressing seasoning
8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
2 cans cream of chicken soup

Cook on low for 4 hours. If sauce is too thick, add a little milk. Serve over pasta.

I used the corkscrew rotini, but pick what you like. Throw some garlic bread in the oven and Whamo!!!

Easy Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti

I almost made myself SICK off this stuff. It was soo easy to make and it makes a ton so you can freeze some of it for later.

What you need:

6 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 cans of cream of chicken
2 cans of rotel
1 large block of velveeta
1 box of angel hair pasta

I used my crockpot. Put the chicken, cream of chicken, rotel in crockpot to cook. I put mine in frozen on high for several hours. When the chicken is done and it's falling apart....cut up your velveeta and add. Once the cheese is melted this part is ready. I then cooked my pasta and added the contents to the cooked pasta. Now I realize that most people put this in the oven, but we didn't. We ate it as soon as we mixed the contents. Leftovers the next day were even better!!

If you want to freeze a portion of it then get some pans, line them with plastic wrap, put the spaghetti in cover with plastic and put in freezer. Give it about a day to freeze then remove it from freezer. Take out of dish, make sure it's wrapped well in plastic wrap then wrap it with aluminum foil and label.

Apple Dump Cake

I prefer stuff like this for breakfast with my coffee AS WELL AS DESSERT!!

This is what you need:

Yellow box cake
2 cans of apple pie filling
About two sticks of butter

Pour the apple filling in a dish
Pour dry cake mix over the top of the filling....make sure the little "rocks" are broken up
Take a stick of butter and start cutting small slabs of butter and covering all of the dry batter

Bake at 350

You can alter this recipe....instead of using apple pie filling....use a can of blueberry filling and a can of crushed pineapple. THIS is divine!!!

Egg Muffins

This is a great, quick way to cook ahead for breakfast and great for the family on the go.

What you'll need:

Muffin Pan
Eggs
Shredded Cheese
Ham, Bacon, Sausage...your choice

Set oven on 350 degrees.
Scramble your eggs in a bowl
Lightly oil your muffin pan and fill each about half full.
You can then add cheese, meat or meats of your choice
You can also add other stuff like salsa....get creative

Put in the oven and bake until light golden brown. There'll be no doubt that they are ready. You can set these out to cool then put in the freezer so that you have them weeks in advance.

I put a ziploc bag full of these in the refrigerator and they were gone by mid week. I plan to make several bags of these to have in frig and freezer....especially when school starts