Libertyville Savings Bank

So, I bet everyone is wondering if I made it through my first hosting.The answer is YES!If you know me well enough, you know that I am a very organized and over analyze.So, I worried for nothing.Everything went off without a hitch.I learned that my family’s favorites are banana cream pie (made from scratch) and little smokies wrapped in bacon.Seriously, who can resist pork fat wrapped in pork fat?We all got to sit as a family and enjoy dinner and each other’s company, and to me that is what the holidays are all about.

Here is my Banana Cream Pie recipe:

You will need one pie crust blind baked.

For the filling:
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cornstarch
¼ teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
5 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 medium bananas, peeled and sliced
Making the filling: Whisk the sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a heavy saucepan off the heat.Gradually whisk in the milk and place over medium heat.Cook and stir constantly, until thick…

A group of us from work started gratitude journals a while back, daily entries for a year.It’s become a habit for me now, and is one of the first things I do every morning.I never have a problem coming up with my entries. I was raised to show thanks, appreciation and gratefulness to people.As my late mother would say, “No one gets through this life without some help and support along the way”.One of my recent entries caught me by surprise.

This past summer, I was officially diagnosed with a “life altering” auto immune disease.This shouldn’t have come as a shock to me, as I have been dealing with auto immune issues for a while now and there is prevalent family history, but it hit me like a rock.There is something about being officially diagnosed that I wasn’t prepared for.The hardest part for me was learning how severe my condition was.My levels were off the chart.I have a ton of support from family, co-workers, and friends, but I knew that the mental and physical endurance of this dise…