Bad American Host!

My husband has Japanese brother. When he was growing up in Modesto, California his parents decided to be a host family to a Japanese exchange student. They were so good at being a host family that the Exchange student basically adopted them as his parents and had them attend his wedding and visits them often in Modesto with his wife.
Thus, that is how we have uncle Koji in our lives.

So, Koji gave my husband a call the other night and told him that one of his wife's old ballet students (his wife was a prima ballerina in Osaka)has become an exchange student at the University of Washington and has had the unfortunate experience of being set up with a bad host family.
This family doesn't talk with her much or feed her or include her at all in their lives. On one occasion she asked if they could have a dinner together and they gave her a frozen T.V. dinner and told her it was "The American Way". (Understand that as a host family you are given money for meals and other expenses...)

So Koji asked us if we could contact her and visit with her to show her not all Americans are bad and to introduce her to some good all American meals.

I'm excited to have her over but I'm wondering what kind of dinner I should make. Any ideas out there?
What's a good all American meal - besides "Thanksgiving" dinner.

Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Thanks, Rachel

Introductions

I guess I should introduce myself.
My name is Rachel, I'm 34, a wife and mother of two. Nothing really exciting there, I know, but though my life may not be that interesting to a tabloid magazine it is....meaningful and significant. And so is yours.

My faith has tought me that no matter how simple or unoticed a life may be it will always be meaninful and significant to the one who created it.
And even if you don't believe in a creator your life is still significant to those who know you.

So that said, this blog was created for artists and crafters. And as artists and crafters we understand the significance of created things! No matter how small or simple they may be, it took our time and creativity and love for what we are creating to make it. And thus this thing, this craft that no one else may notice or care about is now meaningful and significant.

I create salt dough christmas ornaments and figures. It doesn't get much simpler than salt, flour and water.
But with a little molding and crafting, some vision, paint and love...we get something that can be hung on a tree and bring a little charm to the Holidays.

That's what I create. And this blog will have more to do with crafting and such later on. But for now I just wanted to introduce myself and where I am coming from when I craft.

So what do you create? What is behind your creations? What motivates you?

Bye for now!