Every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas we host our annual "Thanksmas Party" to  give our employees, trade partners and families we have built for the opportunity to give back to The Salvation Army of Cleveland County.  This organization is very dear to our hearts.  Santa always comes to make sure everyone has been good and we get the opportunity to have our pictures taken with the Big Man!

Our team also takes a day and Rings the Bell!  This is such a staple of the holiday season as much as the BC Clark jingle!  If you have never volunteerd, you are missing out!  It is such a great way to spread some holiday cheer.  When they say, every penny counts, it truly does! We had fun this year and tried to put a really LARGE check into the kettle.  Needless to say, it didn't work!  Click on the picture and you can check out the video we did!

Our focus on giving back and The Salvation Army is not limited to Christmas Time.  We had the opportunity to build The Judy McKown Children's Activity center that opened last year.  This beautiful building gives families a safe warm place to go to and be mentored by those in our community.

If  you are looking for somewhere to give- check out The Salvation Army!

Didn't Al's recipe yesterday look yummy?  If you missed it be sure and check it out on the Blog, Facebook or Pinterest!

I don't know about everyone else, but some of us at the office are all about the desserts.  If chocolate is in the title, then we are  all in for skipping the main meal and just eating it!  Today's recipe is one that looks pretty easy but is loaded with flavor.  Aren't we all for the easy during Thanksgiving?

Kelli Thompson in our Accounting Department shared this one.  Kelli graduated from Westmoore High School in the Moore Public Schools District.  She continued her education and graduated from OU with her degree in Accounting.  She has lived in Oklahoma all her life and is the mother to twins, a boy and a girl, as well as 4 dogs!  Some fun facts about Kelli:

• She prefers emails/texts over talking on the phone
• HUGE football fan
• She loves Fall/Winter but hates Summer
• Would love to live in Monterey, CA someday (After she retires from working at Landmark is what we told her!)
• She has a younger sister who lives with her parents. Her parents are still married and live in the same house she grew up in.
• Her favorite color is black
• Loves Diet Dr Pepper and Reece's Peanut Butter Cups
• Enjoys Cooking and Baking with her Daughter
• Watching Football with her son
• The whole family loves Ghost Adventures 

Are you ready?

Winter is right around the corner as temperatures continue to drop!  Now is the time to take care of a few maintenance issues around your home to make sure you are ready!

• Be sure and disconnect all outside hoses.  If you forget the outside water faucet can freeze and burst pipes inside the walls.
• If this is the first time to you have turned on your heater you may experience a burning smell.  This is completely normal.  There might also be some smoke that could set off your smoke detector.  The smoke will usually clear away quickly.  Opening a door or window will usually help.
• A good rule of thumb is to change out your batteries on your smoke alarm at the same time you change your clocks.  It is not too late!  Make sure those batteries are good.

What are other things you do around your house as the temperatures drop?

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL???

It is that time of the year to watch your favorite teams battle it out.  We have some great theatre/bonus rooms that would be perfect to host all those parties.

1.  Decide before what kind of food you are going to have.  It is OK to have everyone bring their favorite snacks.  In fact, it is even more fun because you will get to try a variety of items.

2. You can always create questions that your guest have to answer and give a prize for the person who has the most correct.  Examples are: Which team will score first?  How will they score?  How many times will the camera's show the cheer/pom during the first half?  How many times the second?

3. Be sure and take advantange of the parks at Valencia and Carrington Lakes during half time.  Take out your own ball and have your own game!

What ideas do you have for hosting your own football party?

When the thermostat outside is over 90 degrees, most garden plants, lawns, flowers, and veggies can tend to shut down. What is a homeowner to do? Here are some tips we have found that help make our yards in Carrington Lakes, Valencia, The Ranches, and Belleau Wood look their best!

• Choose Plants Wisely:  Some plants are more heat tolerant than others!
• Water: Resist the urge to over water or soak your plants until they're soggy.  You should only give your lawn and garden a inch at a time.  If it is hot and dry water more often but do not increase the amount.
• Garden Pests- Spider mites are a problem in hot weather.  Make sure you keep the leaves of your plants wet to discourage them!
• Weeds- No matter how hot is gets, weeds are always a problem!  Sorry, you will need to keep weeding your flower beds and lawn.
• Containers- Remember to keep watering them!  You can always move them to shadier locations as the temperature rises.
• Mulch- Add more mulch if needed.  It is a great product to keep the soil cooler and helps to hold the moisture. Choose well composted mulches in hot weather rather than fresh manure or grass clippings.

After you have worked in the yard don't forget to take care of yourself!  Find a swimming pool and relax.  I can tell you our pools at Valencia and Carrington Lakes continue to be a popular place no matter how hot it gets!