CREATING A HOLIDAY MASTERPIECE How to Decorate Your Gingerbread House Like a Pro One of the most popular holiday traditions has become making and decorating gingerbread houses. The tradition began in Germany in the early 1800s and originated from Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel.” Some shy away from the idea of making their own gingerbread house, but have no fear — if the Germans did it in the early 1800s, so can you!
Mini cookies of your choice may also make a deliciously good-looking roof. Try layering them up for a dimensional look! And, for extra pizazz, strategically place mini candy canes throughout the yard and on either side of the front doors and windows. If you want to get really detailed, try using actual candy bars as fire logs in the fireplace. Just be sure to store your gingerbread house in a cool area so nothing will melt! Whether you prefer a simple gingerbread house or a flashy one, any and ALL candy can be used! Get decorating and be sure to have a bite of candy along the way!
To simplify things, many gingerbread houses come with baked pieces and a full decorating kit. This helps you have more time for the best part: the actual decorating! Each kit usually comes with fun candy and icing, so you can make something really kick-butt for the holidays! Icing will be your best friend. Think of it as the yummy glue that holds everything together while also acting as a colorful trim for your gingerbread house. However, because it’ll keep the house from falling, be sure to use a lot! Spice drops also make for a great trim and “roofing,” just use icing to hold them in place. Alternate between colors or use a variety to make your house really pop. M&Ms are certainly a must-have for anyone decorating their gingerbread house. Not only are they delicious, but they also make cute little accents all over the house and yard.
THETIMEWETOOK ON A CASE FOR FREE
A few years ago a woman — let’s call her Susan* — walked into our office. She was 50 years old and had just been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Susan had just quit her job the day before when her symptoms had become too much. “I need your help,” she told our intake specialist. “I have four children still in school and just a few months to live. I want to make sure that all the Social Security Disability stuff is taken care of so that there’s still income after I am gone.” Most law firms would have turned Susan away — not because she didn’t need help, but because her case wasn’t worth any money. You see, the law dictates how much a lawyer gets paid on a Social Security Disability case. After we win, our fee is a percentage of the money the government owes the client. To make matters worse, the government doesn’t begin making payments until a few months after you’ve become disabled.
until she met with us in our office to begin her application. Therefore, the government wouldn’t owe her (or her family) until months later. There would be no backpay on the line. Additionally, representing her the right way would include doing extra work to put in a special request to allow her to “cut in line” because of her terminal illness. This ensured that we wouldn’t make a single dime from her case. Fortunately, Packard Law Firm isn’t an ordinary law firm. One of our core values is compassion. So, instead of sending Susan away, our intake specialist turned to Michael with a pleading look in her eyes.
Years later, Michael still gets choked up when he talks about it.
“As we explained our contract, Susan saw the problem and asked, ‘But how are you going to get paid?’” Michael explained that even though we couldn’t get paid, representing her was the right thing to do. “When we told her the news, we all cried together and I gave her a big hug,” Michael says. “Susan reminded me of my mom’s situation. They were the same age and were both terminal with children at home. “ We won Susan’s case and got her payments expedited. To this day, our firm still puts compassion and doing the right thing above our paycheck — at Christmas or any other time of year. If you know someone who has been turned away by another law firm, please send them our way. There may be something we can do for them. *Susan’s name has been changed to protect client privacy. She passed away soon after we took on her case.
“What should we do?” she asked.
Michael knew what she was really asking: Should we put in hours of time and do the extra work to help this woman quickly, even though we wouldn’t get paid? “If anyone ever needed help, it’s her,” Michael said. “We should absolutely do it.” With a big smile on her face, the intake specialist got to work.
And since Susan had only stopped working the day before, she wasn’t legally disabled
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