New Year, New Food!

The New Year is here, and it’s time for a change! Instead of sticking with the same old resolutions that you know you aren’t going to fulfill, why not switch it up to something fun and exciting!

When making at a health based resolution, most people would say “I’m going to cut fatty foods from my diet”, or “I’m going to eat less carbs”, but that’s boring... How about trying a new food, each week!

This is a great way to introduce new foods to your body and keep your diet varied! There are a ton of websites that offer great new meal or snack solutions, and I guarantee you haven’t heard of most of them! I most often refer to RealSimple.com or Food.com, both of these websites have a lot of articles that offer weekly meal plans. As I’m reading over the recipe, I often notice that some of the ingredients that I would usually turn my nose up to. But when you’re combing some ingredients together, it creates a whole new delicious flavor!

Here is one article to help get you started! I did all the leg work for you, now there’s no excuse!

Written by: Emily P.

Santa Hat Cookies

Simple cute cookies that are perfect for the Christmas Season

Ingredients

1 package Pillsbury™ ready-to-bake sugar cookies

1 jar (7 oz) marshmallow creme (1 1/2 cups)

1 cup butter, softened

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon red gel food color

48 miniature marshmallows

White candy sprinkles

Step 1) Heat oven to 350°F. Cut each cookie in half. Roll each half into a ball. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.

Step 2) Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until edges are set and golden brown. Cool 5 minutes on cookie sheets before removing to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 10 minutes.

Step 3) To make frosting, in large bowl, beat marshmallow crème and softened butter with electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Beat in powdered sugar until fluffy. Add food color, and beat until well combined.

Step 4) Place frosting in resealable food-storage plastic bag. Cut off 1 tiny corner of bag. Pipe frosting, piling up in hat shape, on top of each cookie.

Step 5) Top each hat with miniature marshmallow. Gently press sprinkles around bottom edge of each hat so they stick to frosting.

Enjoy!

Post By: Melissa K.

PRESS RELEASE: 50/50 Raffle Success

GAMBLER GAME 50/50 RAFFLE HELPS TOOLS 4 SCHOOLS INITIATIVE

·        Horizon Community Credit Union raised enough funds through a 50/50 raffle, along with an outside donation, to donate 300 pair of waterproof mittens

·        Funds were raised through the Tools 4 Schools initiative, which raises money for school supplies for children at Nicolet and Martin Elementary schools in Green Bay.

GREEN BAY, WI—There are many who remember their first day of their elementary school year.  There were brand new, sharpened pencils and shiny new markers.  Unfortunately, there are children in our community who don’t get to experience this excitement because their family cannot afford school supplies. Horizon Community Credit Union looks to solve this problem through their annual Tools 4 Schools campaign.

Horizon Community Credit Union staff and volunteers sold 50/50 Raffle tickets at the December 11^th  Green Bay Gamblers home game. The raffle proceeds benefit their Tools 4 Schools initiative, which will go towards 300 pairs of mittens for children in need. “The biggest request we hear during this time is for winter gear, especially mittens,” said Patrick Josephson, Horizon Community Credit Union President, “warm hand, warm hearts—we just want to help the children” 

Tools 4 Schools is an initiative Horizon Community Credit Union started. They fundraise in the summer so they can purchase school supplies for the children at Nicolet and Martin Elementary Schools right here in Green Bay. Their 2015 campaign raised $1,572.52 in donations from members and business partners.  The staff surpassed their fundraising goal, so they were able to “slime” their President, Patrick Josephson. You can watch the video below!

Christmas Gift Wrapping Ideas!

With Christmas day right around the corner, we are headed full speed down the home stretch. Whether you are a last minute shopper or not, do not give off that impression. With these easy DIY Christmas gift wrapping, you can wow your family and friends. After all, it is the thought that counts.

With the help of kids, this is an easy and fun way to deck up brown paper bags as cute reindeer's.

Make your gifts stand out underneath the tree with beautiful embellishments from your arts and crafts supply box.

Instead of name tags, add photos of the recipient to give it that extra personalized touch. To add some mystery and fun, try drawing them and have them guess which gift is theirs.

Wrap kids gifts with crayons. This is especially useful for big Christmas parties, where kids have to wait to open their presents.

Use popsicle sticks as name tags to give it that rustic feel for a snowy white Christmas. 

Post by: Mai Y.

References:

http://www.craftionary.net/diy-gift-wrapping-ideas-christmas-holidays/ 
http://www.shelterness.com/11-diy-last-minute-christmas-gift-wrapping-ideas/

Tips for a Stress(less) Christmas

Every year I tell myself that I am going to buy gifts earlier then December and that I am going to get the decorating done right after Thanksgiving. Well I can tell you that it’s December 18th and I still have to finish Christmas shopping and there are no lights outside my house right now. I can’t believe how quick Christmas seems to be coming this year. I have spoken to friends and family on both sides of the spectrum and it seems some are totally ready for Christmas while others are stressing about getting things done. Now it might be too late for me, but these are some things that may be helpful to you and that I plan to keep in mind for Christmas next year….I hope!

1. Start Saving! I started my Christmas club with HCCU 2 years ago and this has help so much with our Christmas budget. I put away $25 per pay check and come October I have around $650 saved. I can’t imagine where I would have pulled that money from if I hadn’t been saving all year long. Christmas gifts get expensive so save your money to save you the stress.

2. Start decorating after Thanksgiving! I usually end up working the day after Thanksgiving and in the past I always ended up decorating the Saturday after Christmas. I don’t know what my procrastination was this year, but I didn’t get my decorations up until 2 weeks ago. Decorate early so that you have time to pick up decorations that you may need to replace or update It also allows you to enjoy your decoration efforts for a lot longer.

3. Start shopping early! My mom used to always start shopping after Christmas. She said that is when you get the best deals. I used to work in retail so I know that this is true especially when it comes to Christmas items. Some Christmas clearance starts at 70% on December 26th. Think about how much you can get done if you do not have to shop in December. You also won’t have to deal with crowds and trying to figure out what people want. Try to keep in mind when you hear your friends and family talking about things they want throughout the year and pick those items up right away. Again, whatever you can get done early will make you less stressed.

4. Don’t try to please everyone! My boyfriend has divorced parents so we are bound to at least 3 Christmases each year. Add in Christmas with our extended families and that can be a lot! We tell ourselves each year that our immediate family comes first. We always make it to my parent’s house each year, his mom’s house and his dads. If we can fit our extended families in as well we do, but we don’t go to every party that we get invited to. This allows us to enjoy Christmas and not feel like all we are doing is traveling all day long.

5. Limit your spending! Each year it feels like we are spending more and more on Christmas gifts. Each year I tell myself that we are going to cut back and it seems like we continue to buy more. While our families always come first I decided this year to cut back on buying all of our friend’s gifts. Instead of buying gifts we decided to go out and have a nice dinner. Each couple ends up spending $100 on gifts, that money can pay for a really nice dinner and then you are not buying things that your friends could go out and buy themselves.

So there you have it. These are some great tips on how you can make the holidays a bit less stressful. I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say that they don’t like Christmas because of all the work that they need to do. Keep these tips in mind and you may just have a Merry Christmas after all!

Written By: Katie B.

Recycle Bottle Caps with this Cute Ornament Craft!

I have stated in previous blogs that I am addicted to Pinterest especially when it comes to recipes and decorating my house. I had my family over for Thanksgiving and my mom; sister and I were working on some Christmas craft ideas. The original craft we planned didn’t really pan out so I pulled up my Pinterest board and found a craft that I knew I had the stuff for. This was soooo easy and super simple to make.

Supplies you need:

• White Paint
• Hot glue gun
• 3 beer bottle caps
• Orange permanent marker
• Black permanent marker
• Ribbon
• Assorted buttons

What you need to do:

1. Save the bottle caps off of 3 of your bottled beverage of choice.

2. Paint the inside of the beer cap with white paint.

3. Once the paint has completely dried glue the bottle caps together side by side on the edges as shown in the picture above. You’re basically building a snowman with the bottle caps.

4. Draw a snowman face on the top bottle cap using an orange marker for the nose and black for the eyes and moth.

5. Draw buttons on the middle bottle cap with black marker

6. Fold a piece of ribbon on an angle to create a scarf. You will then glue this in between the top and middle bottle cap.

7. Glue a button or any other type of small Christmas decoration to the folded part of the scarf to add a little something extra to the ornament.

8. Create a loop with another piece of ribbon to create a hook and glue this to the back side of top bottle cap.

That’s it! Now you have a cute ornament to hang on your tree or to give as a gift!

Written By: Katie B. 

What You Need To Know About Phishing

If you’ve ever gotten a suspicious email that looks official, you may have been the target of a phishing scam. And you wouldn’t be alone; hundreds of thousands of phishing attacks are reported every year. One of those attacks centered on Capital Credit Union this past month.  Some members of Capital Credit Union were sent an email using Capital Credit Union’s logo, name, and phone number to convince recipients they were legitimate. The fake email told members they needed to click on a link and enter in their login information for their personal account. Unfortunately, hackers can use this information to access their account.  With this in mind, we wanted to remind people what they can do to prevent this from happening to them. We do everything possible to keep our members’ personal information secure, but there is something you can do as well.

Be very cautious of emails asking you for personal information. If it sounds urgent and asks for specific account information, you should be suspicious. We won’t ask you for information that we already have on file, so it’s possible someone is trying to steal your information. If you feel unsure about replying to any email, call us at 920-433-0122. 

Here are some examples of phishing emails: 

Written By: Noelle C

Winter Wine Walk on Broadway

What can you do in the middle of December? In Wisconsin? Think that it is too cold to get out and do something fun? Think again. The businesses in the Broadway District are offering a Winter Wine Walk on the three Fridays in December before Christmas.

 
The 2nd annual Winter Wine Walk On Broadway takes place December 4th, 11th, and 18th from 5 pm- 9 pm. Enjoy wine tasting sessions from local and Door County wineries in the warmth and comfort of area businesses dotted across the Broadway District. Purchase punch cards for only $5.00 / person at any store along the walk! Pick a store to start at, purchase your punch ticket, and begin the fun. Each store will punch your ticket, give you a sample of wine, your can brose the store and make your purchase, and then move on to the next business. If you don’t fill up your punch card in one night come back and visit the next week and continue your fun. 

 
The Winter Wine Walk has enlisted over twenty five different Broadway shops to host the wineries including Besseli, Petal Pusher, Sassy Girl, Little Tokyo, and more! Along with any purchase you may find in these unique stores, bottles of wine may also be purchased during the Wine Walk. 

 
Come and visit the stores in the Broadway district and enjoy. Anyone that knows me knows I like my wine, so I will definitely be there. I will also be a volunteer in Sassy Girl on Dec. 18th, so stop in and see me.

Written By: Karen S.  

Get a Grip!

I used to think my wrist and hand problems were mostly from my aerial endeavors. I spoke with an instructor at the studio, and  she told me that soreness is normal, but my tingling and numbness is definitely not (and that’s been going on for a couple years now). I have not seen a medical professional, but I will have to sooner or later!

So, folks, let me impart some of what I’ve found, so that you can do your best to avoid your own tingling and numbness! There’s no proven strategy to avoid carpal tunnel syndrome, but these should reduce the stress on your hands and wrists:

·         Reduce your force and relax your grip. Most people use more force than needed to perform many manual tasks. If your work involves a cash register, for instance, hit the keys softly. For prolonged handwriting, use a big pen with an oversized, soft grip adapter and free-flowing ink. This way you won't have to grip the pen tightly or press as hard on the paper.

·         Take frequent breaks. Give your hands and wrists a break by gently stretching and bending them periodically. Alternate tasks when possible. If you use equipment that vibrates or that requires you to exert a great amount of force, taking breaks is even more important.

·         Watch your form. Avoid bending your wrist all the way up or down. A relaxed middle position is best. If you use a keyboard, keep it at elbow height or slightly lower. 

·         Improve your posture. Incorrect posture can cause your shoulders to roll forward. When your shoulders are in this position, your neck and shoulder muscles are shortened, compressing nerves in your neck. This can affect your wrists, fingers and hands.

·         Keep your hands warm. You're more likely to develop hand pain and stiffness if you work in a cold environment. If you can't control the temperature at work, put on fingerless gloves that keep your hands and wrists warm.

(Mayo Clinic)

As for the rest of your body, you might want to reference this graphic:

So what are YOU doing to prevent stress on your body at the office? 

Written By: Breanna B.