Need A Nap 2

Review of Protection for Hire

2011-11-22T17:38:00.013-05:00

Protection for Hire is the newest book by Camy Tang. I love Camy's writing and I loved the Sushi series. But I loved this book, Protection for Hire, more than the Sushi series which is a BIG compliment. I think this book got closer to the in-depth family look of the Sushi series. But it is grittier and has a darker evil side than some of Camy's books have seen. Overall though, the book is about a (somewhat) new Christian being released from prison and how she adjusts back into her family, and find a job, while staying true to who she has become. As usual, Camy explains any cultural or foreign terms the reader might not know such as yakuza (Japanese mob). I'm looking forward to the second book in this new series! More info on Amazon and Christian Book.

Thank you to Camy Tang, the publisher Zondervan and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read an Advanced Copy of this book in an e-book format. All thoughts are my own.

Legal info - Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Zondervan and NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Book review The Chocolate Diaries by Karen Linamen

2011-11-04T22:37:00.005-04:00

The Chocolate Diaries: Secrets for a Sweeter Journey on the Rocky Road of Life

book blurb:

Ready to Make Some Sweet Changes? Karen Linamen dishes up a satisfying blend of moxie and mocha, sharing stories from dozens of women who reveal savvy strategies for embracing a sweeter life—even while traveling rocky roads. If you’re hungry for more joy, reasons to laugh again, ideas to help you heal, and reliable hope leading to a sweeter future, this journey will leave you satisfied. Funny, transparent, and uplifting, The Chocolate Diaries is like taking a road trip with good friends who are wise about life. And while you’re at it, indulge (just a little) in the quirky recipes for concocting chocolate delights out of whatever ingredients you can round up in your kitch. The road may still be bumpy, but you’ll be having too much fun to care.

my review:
I thought the book had a great premise and enjoyed the anecdotes and chocolate references. While the author had seemed to experienced some difficult times and wanted to guide her children well, I found her biblical basis and references lacking. She seemed to quote others when she made a biblical point, so she didn't have to be the one to say something "religious" and instead it was made by someone else. Want a book with guiding stories from real life? Then read this, but if you're looking for a biblical basis and backing for her advice then you'll find this chocolate lacking as I did.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Multnomah Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Last Day!

2011-09-30T15:01:00.003-04:00

Today is the last day to enter Cars 2 codes for Kimberly-Clark products. You have until 10/31/2011 to redeem your codes for prizes but today (9/30/2011) is the last day to enter codes, up until 11:59 PM CT. If you're a procrastinator like me, find those codes and get them entered at www.kimberly-clark.com/cars2 !!

New Motto

2011-08-12T22:33:00.001-04:00

For my kids:
"No whining or fussing whether I am first or last, or somewhere in the middle. My turn will come around again." :)

Books, especially series

2011-06-18T03:08:00.005-04:00

Because I don't have much of a book budget (in other words we don't spend much $ on books), I don't usually catch onto a series until it's very popular or I find a book at the library or read someone else's recommendation. This is very beneficial because quite often I can read a series all together. I don't have to wait months and months (or years) for the next book in a series to be published! So here's some I've read lately that I've really enjoyed:
Sisters in Bethlehem Springs series by Robin Lee Hatcher
The Bug Man series by Tim Downs (not sure if the series is finished now that #6 has come out so I may be waiting months/years for the next one)
Michelli Family series by Kristen Heitzmann

Sisters series - A Vote of Confidence, Fit to be Tied, and A Matter of Character
I'm not a feminist and I would probably think the 3 main women in the series are a little too independent and head strong. But I enjoyed the books and the characters were so good that it was hard not to want to read more about all of them.

The Bug Man series - Shoofly Pie (#1), Chop Shop (#2), (if you want the first two together), First the Dead (#3), Less than Dead (#4), Ends of the Earth (#5), and Nick of Time (#6)
I enjoy CSI so I have found the Bug Man very enjoyable. I love that each of these books until #5 Ends of the Earth can be read out of order or totally by themselves without messing up the storyline or characters. That is VERY VERY rare in a series. There are a few characters that show up in different books but usually in a very small amount. The main character from Plaguemaker (separate stand alone book, not Bug Man series) does show up in #5 Ends of the Earth so it might ruin a small part of Plaguemaker if you read Ends of the Earth first. But I didn't think Plaguemaker was that good so I would skip it anyway (though the fireworks information and bug aspect was kind of neat). (I just got book #6 Nick of Time from the library so can't comment about it yet.) Most of the time these books are not numbered as "Bug Man series #" so it can be kind of confusing. I think all of the books were categorized as "Christian" at my library but don't seem at all Christian until book #4 Less Than Dead and then just barely so these books might be looked over by a mainstream audience but might be good to share with a non-Christian friend.

Michelli Family series - Secrets, Unforgotten, and Echoes
Oh this series was SO good. Do not start book #1 Secrets unless you have book #2 Unforgotten close by so you can go right from reading the first to the second. Then you'll want to have #3 Echoes on hold so you can learn how the story concludes. I didn't agree with some of the Roman Catholic beliefs but felt that a lot of the biblical ideas were really good. These books definitely should've come with recipes!!!

Around my house

2011-06-18T02:57:00.002-04:00

My oldest is going to camp this summer. Considering her medical needs (type 1 diabetic), this is a big deal. It is a diabetes camp and it's less than one week. But we are a bit nervous. Our daughter is pretty sheltered since we homeschool. My husband and I agreed before she went to camp we would talk more about "the birds and the bees" and biblical worldview. Since this isn't a church camp, we know that she'll probably meet lots of kids with different views. Also, we'll be talking about not following others, not doing everything someone else asks, and how other kids are not always nice. Lots of stuff she would probably learn if she had been in public school all along. I'll be somewhere between being in a fetal position holding the home phone and cell phone AND fixing the other 3 kids any and every dessert they want that we don't usually have! :) Admittedly, it should be a nice break from having to count carbs every moment of every day (trust me, you don't want to know how many carbs are in what you're eating!).

We've had a round of birthdays so my oldest is now 10, the 2nd daughter is 8, my son is 6, and my youngest (our baby!) is 4. Aaaackkkk with a side of tears thrown in!

My son was singing Peppermint Patty's song from Peanuts, "I'm in shake, I'm in shake, I'm in shake. I run five miles every morning . . .". We had to correct him that it's shape, not shake. Very funny though! Hope all is well in your corner of the world today. :)

Free e-book today April 27 only!

2011-04-27T20:19:00.003-04:00

Write a post about 31 Days to Clean and e-mail Sarah to get a free copy of 31 Days to Clean: Having a Martha House the Mary Way. :) Trust me, I do need this book!!

Rite-Aid deal

2011-04-27T19:39:00.003-04:00

(Not that I need any chocolate!) Rite-Aid has M&M bags (9.9 oz - 12.6 oz) on sale this week for $1.99 and their Video Values has a coupon for $1 off 2. And there's a rebate (started today) for $1. Since I missed out on Walgreens deal last week b/c my store ran out, I thought this was pretty good this week. And don't forget at Rite-Aid there is a .88 Up reward back on single serve M&M/Mars too.

Sheesh, kids!

2011-04-21T15:49:00.002-04:00

How come everything that isn't nailed down ends up in their rooms strewn about on their floor?

How come they can't wear one outfit a day? Or have to pull all of their clothes out of their dresser?

How come it makes me want to lock everything up so they won't have access to anything?

Just normal life around here, how about you?

Thankful

2011-03-21T15:45:00.002-04:00

Today I'm thankful for Staples Easy Rebates time period being 60 days. I was afraid it would be less than 4 weeks.

Heard around my house

2011-01-07T20:22:00.003-05:00

My oldest daughter, "Don't trust someone else's taste buds." Said when talking about eating bugs. I said that when we (my hubby, me, and child #4 was a baby) were in Uganda they sold cooked grasshoppers on the side of the street. I didn't try one but the missionary we were with said they were ok except the ones being sold that day didn't look very good at all! We each have different preferences and prefer different foods but sometimes it is good to stretch those taste buds! :)

Book Review

2011-01-07T16:35:00.011-05:00

I read Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It is hard to sum up this book in a short review. It was very good, very challenging in my Christian walk. It makes you think about what you are doing as a Christian, who could you be reaching out to and what could you be doing for someone else to make a difference in their life. Denver was a homeless black man that everyone was afraid of but he had a soul that desired God and a head pretty full of the Bible after attending church as a young man. Ron thought he was a Christian until confronted with someone who really believed and he slowly turned his life over to God. But the true catalyst to bring these two men together was Ron's wife Debbie (as Denver calls her Miss Debbie or Deborah as Ron calls her). Both men would never be the same!

Please read this book or give it to someone you love, you will be challenged to reach out, do something for someone else, and challenge your faith and theirs!

Book Review

2011-01-07T16:35:00.010-05:00

I read Tandem by Tracy Batemen. I didn't realize this was the second book in a series or that there was a subplot about vampires. My fault, I didn't look clearly at the cover or read any other reviews about the book. I just read the back cover blurb,
"As obsession and loss become dark partners, how far must the people of Abbey Hills go to survive?

Six months ago, brutal murders shook the small Ozark town—murders that stopped after a house fire reportedly claimed the killer’s life. Lauryn McBride's family auction house has taken responsibility for the estate sale of one of the victims—the enigmatic Markus Chisom. Submerging herself in Chisom’s beautiful but strange world, Lauryn welcomes the reprieve from watching Alzheimer’s steal her father from her, piece by piece. She soon realizes that centuries-old secrets tie Abbey Hills to the Chisom estate and a mysterious evil will do anything to make sure those secrets stay hidden. Even the man who grew up loving her may not be able to protect Lauryn from the danger.

When Amede Dastillon receives an unexpected package from Abbey Hills, she hopes it might be the key in tracking down her beloved sister, long estranged from her family. Visiting Abbey Hills seems the logical next step in her search, but Amede is unusually affected by the town, and when mutilated carcasses begin turning up again in the small community, the local law enforcement isn’t sure if they are confronting a familiar evil or a new terror.

Two women brought together by questions that seem to have no answers. Can they overcome the loss and darkness threatening to devour them—or will their own demons condemn them to an emotional wasteland?"

------------

I haven't read any other vampire books nor seen any recent movies. I did see some in my teen years but that has been about 20 years ago. So I had no preconceived notions going into this book. I'm not really a vampire fan but enjoyed the other story lines in the book and the overall writing. The book laid out an interesting idea of humans living peacefully alongside vampires. I felt the Christianity was a little weak and surprised a missionary/almost pastor would pick a love interest of someone who isn't clearly a Christian. The book was suspenseful and wasn't overly gory. I enjoyed the changing points of view, each chapter usually has a flashback, a current situation from a character we haven't seen yet, and then goes on with the main part. These changing points of view usually bother me in books but I actually enjoyed them.

I've been wanting to read a book by Tracey Bateman and I enjoyed her writing and a book set in Missouri (where I grew up) but I should've looked more into the book before choosing this one.

More information about the book can be found here (click the link), the original sneak peek with pdf of the first two chapters is available here.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. No compensation was received, and this review and thoughts are my own.

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-25T03:56:00.002-05:00

Hope you're having a quiet and restful evening. I don't think I could say it better than Callapidder Days so I'll just link to her!

Hmm? At my house lately

2010-10-28T10:41:00.000-04:00

Our youngest wanted our oldest to look out the window and see something. I happened to be turned around and she pointed to her and said, "What's her name again?". Our youngest is 3 and usually not very forgetful (at least not of her siblings' names!). But I do know how she feels, I seem to trip up on my kids' names (and ages, grades, birth dates, etc) a lot. :)

Fun

2010-10-27T10:05:00.001-04:00

(I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth yet though I haven't posted in so long that it might seem like it, sorry.)

Nothing is more fun than your kids waking you up because the tornado sirens are going off! We had some interesting weather yesterday as I'm sure many of you did. Hope everyone is ok and was able to stay somewhere safe. We scooted out of our house (in our pjs) and went to stay in a friend's basement for about 30 minutes. Not the most enjoyable morning but not too bad over all. :)

We just got 4 pumpkins and I left them on the porch so my (oh so adorable) 5-year-old son said we needed to get the pumpkins as we made our very hasty run to the minivan. Then my 7-year-old daughter kept saying, "NO! People are more important than pumpkins! People are more important than pumpkins!" I thought it was a good biblical lesson, funny, and memorable all at the same time. :)

Rite-Aid STINKS!!

2010-08-24T12:28:00.004-04:00

*Update at end*
I have a small blog but I thought I would share my frustration about coupon usage with anyone who might choose to read these words! Rite-Aid has a really good deal this week on Huggies diapers. Pay $8.99 for a jumbo pack then get $2 back in UP+ rewards. Plus spend $25 on Kimberly-Clark products then get $5 back in rebate from the Rite-Aid rebate program. Well, a few months ago there was a rebate program, buy 5 packages of Huggies diapers get a coupon for a free package. Yipee, I can save money and get a free package back. I'll go for that.

So I received my coupon and headed to a local store last night. The clerk said she had to ask the manager about my free coupon. I said ok, it's on foil paper, it has a watermark, and it says specifically "REDEEM AT RITE AID" on the front. (Not redeemable only at Rite-Aid, which will be important later.) Then the manager tells me she'll have to talk to her boss in the morning, that they're only taking free coupons up to $5 because of coupon fraud. I'm an avid couponer and I understand this but this isn't a printable coupon. It's not on regular white paper. I explained that I received this from the Rite-Aid rebate program!!!! No avail, she said I could call in tomorrow. The store is about to close and I have other shopping to do so I said ok, I still bought the Huggies and asked if I brought the coupon in tomorrow and if it's ok that I could get my money back and she said yes.

So I was very frustrated but left and went to CVS. One of the clerks there was stocking merchandise and I explained my frustration and she asked to see it. She said they would be glad to take it!

I have been impressed with Rite-Aid lately and the deals there plus I like the new Wellness program but this is ridiculous. Part of my complaint, is that I would think there would be a notification process to make an exclusion for a coupon sent out by their own rebate program!! I called today and "the boss" is willing to take the coupon and she'll be contacting her District Manager to check into the use of this coupon. I told her that I didn't appreciate having to make a separate trip into the store (well, probably my husband).

I called the corporate # and he said the policy is not to take printables over $5 and I explained that this isn't a printable! He asked which store and would I like him to call them, I said I'd already called but I didn't appreciate the hassle or having to make a second trip in and that CVS would be very happy to take my coupon and that I might not be shopping at Rite-Aid anymore! Somehow I don't think my threatening did much good but maybe this blog post will at least warn others that they might want to take their free product coupon to another store!!

UPDATE-I called the store and the manager (big boss) was understanding but not very apologetic and was confused about what I wanted. My husband took the diapers in and was able to get her to do a return on them and then buy them again with the coupon, which they now took. On the bright side, another UP+ reward printed for buying a package of Huggies. :) I'm still avoiding that store location, though I'll probably get over it sometime.

Amazing!

2010-08-20T15:50:00.003-04:00

Some things are amazing to me:

--I can move 2 times in one year and not break a bottle of olive oil that is past expiration and needs to be thrown away. Yet when I buy a new bottle at Aldi's, it doesn't make it home. It broke in the floorboard of the passenger front seat in our minivan. I had to throw away 2 reusable bags (Kroger basic black (freebie) and Whole Foods (freebie) but I did rescue the CVS green bag tag). I was very thankful I had Sunday's paper (bought for the coupons) to help sop up the extra oil. I decided to keep the cold reusable bag (freebie) that got a little oil on it. I guess next time I buy a bottle, I'll wrap it in bubble wrap and pack it more carefully in our minivan!! Olive oil - $3.99 at Aldi's.

--Gummy vitamins will melt into a big glob when left in the minivan in the sun, $3.99 at Aldi's.

--6 kids can entertain themselves when you spend $32 on pizza, drinks, and tokens at Chuck-E-Cheese (using lots of coupons!). Leaving another mom and I (we split the cost) to talk and hold one very sleepy snuggly 6-week-old baby! :)

Time with friends, new babies, and a trip to the "big" city - Priceless!

Cursive Handwriting, Reading, and Life

2010-07-28T00:40:00.003-04:00

I forgot to mention in my last post that I had a cavity. I haven't had a cavity in years and I was so, well ashamed actually that I haven't been brushing well. I didn't take care of my teeth when I was young and have many cavities and fillings. In college, I had a filling fall out and it got infected. My dentist tried to fix it but it didn't work so I had to have a root canal and crown. Last year, another filling needed to be replaced and I had an "almost" crown put on it. I don't know about all of my fillings but I wonder if eventually they'll all have to be replaced with crowns. How long does a crown last? Will this dental work ever end??? Take good care of your teeth!!!! Brush and FLOSS, learn from my mistakes. :)

I'm trying to teach our two oldest cursive using Handwriting Without Tears. But with our second, there's always tears!! :) This was our summer project that is just starting to gain ground after moving this summer. Daughter #1 is also finishing up Saxon 5/4 before we start her on Math-U-See this fall (which book? hmm, not sure yet).

I've read several books and hope to get reviews done soon. Happy reading!

Life and lemonade

2010-06-23T00:45:00.003-04:00

If you didn't read my SRT wrap-up (previous post) then you don't know we moved. We said good-bye to our horribly small horribly smoky (neighbors, ugh!) townhouse and hello to a gorgeous ranch house that is being rented to us by someone at our church. We now have a linen closet in the bathroom (what luxury!!) and a backyard (with trees and bugs) and a jacuzzi on the deck. We are SOOOO blessed. We now have a sunroom that will be good for homeschooling, eating (2 tables gifted by a family leaving to do mission work), playing and resting. I can't believe we'll have room to put 2 tables end-to-end and still have room to walk around. We might add a 3rd table or kids' table for when we have company. :)

We celebrated Father's Day this past Sunday and my youngest kept saying Happy Father's Day to Daddy then Happy Mother's Day to me. So cute. And the boy picked up on it and started saying it too! I tried to make a cake for hubby, it rose about 2/3 of a normal cake because I couldn't find the mixer (ugh, the unpacking!) and beat it by hand. It was interesting! Hope your neck of the woods are wonderful and you're enjoying the a/c during this very hot humid June weather. :)

Spring Reading Thing 2010 Wrap-Up

2010-06-21T15:24:00.009-04:00

Well, life never seems to go as I plan. We knew we might move before summer started but weren't sure. Well, we moved a little over a week ago so that cut into my reading time a LOT! But I still read a good number of books, mostly fiction and quite a few that weren't on my list but I found at the library. :)

1. READ ~~Comforts from the Cross: Celebrating the Gospel~~
~~One Day at a Time~~ by Elyse Fitpatrick - I've been using this as a daily devotional but don't always keep up. I just try to read every day and keep a bookmark with where I am in the book so I keep reading through it.
2. READ ~~Gilead: A Novel~~ by Marilynne Robinson - picked out by my husband, one reason is John Piper read it and is still talking about it!
3. READ ~~Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church~~ by Michael Horton - my husband has read this and wants me to read it and discuss.
4. *planning to read but ran out of time* God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts - my husband picked it out.
5. *did buy this and still plan to read* Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety: Becoming A
Woman of Faith and Confidence by Elyse Fitpatrick - rinse, repeat
6. something by Charles Martin, depends on what's available at the library but I'd like to read ~~Chasing Fireflies~~ *READ*. I've already read When Crickets Cry.
7. READ ~~Greater Love~~ by Robert Litlow - third book in the Tides of Truth series. I'd like to see how this one goes before giving a review of the other two books in the series.
(8.) READ ~~book 4 of the Million Dollar Mysteries~~ A Quarter for a Kiss by Mindy Starns Clark.

Not on my original list that I read:
Love the Sinner by Lynn Bulock
Undertow by Lorena McCourtney
Adelaide Piper by Beth Webb Hart
Deliver Us From Evil by David Baldacci
Sisterchicks Do the Hula by Robin Jones Gunn

I hope to do reviews for all of the books I've read but haven't gotten to that either. Reviews for Gilead, Greater Love, and A Quarter for a Kiss are here, here, and here respectively. Ok, on to the questions:

1) Favorite book - probably Greater Love, though it's hard to pick b/c I liked all of the fiction books I read except Gilead. I liked Sisterchicks b/c it's fun and about Hawaii, a nice easy read though I always seem to cry! Deliver Us From Evil was nail biting and intriguing, I love how he picks up characters and uses them again later but it's not a "series". Adelaide Piper (mature teen and above warning on this one though!) was challenging and had me reflecting on my high school graduation and college . Love the Sinner reminded me to keep an open mind and love others. A Quarter for a Kiss was great. Chasing Fireflies was good but not as good as When Crickets Cry (and now I want to read the newest book by Charles Martin).

2)Least favorite - Gilead, read my review to find out why, it just wasn't for me. :)

I liked Michael Horton's Christless Christianity but I kept asking my husband what about this or that and he'd say it's in the next book The Gospel-Driven Life so I wish the book had 2 parts or something! :) It was still a tough read for me b/c I don't like much non-fiction. I'm hoping I'll like God's Big Picture, the youth in our church went through it so surely I can get through it!!

3) Lynn Bulock and Beth Webb Hart were new authors for me, I enjoyed both but would probably definitely hope to read more from Lynn Bulock. She's not the best detective-ish writer but it's fast like a "beach" read and that's always nice.

My husband and I set about a 1:4 ratio for books, one non-fiction to 4 fiction and that seemed to work out pretty well, still hard to stick to though. I ended up counting Gilead as a non-fiction book b/c it seemed like it and it took me a long time to plow through it. :) I loved participating in the Spring Reading Thing. I really do think these challenges push me to read and to focus on a set list so I am looking forward to Callapider Days next reading challenge. Thank you to all who visited me because of my list, I appreciate the visits and comments and hope you had a great time reading this Spring! :)

Book Review - A Quarter for a Kiss by Mindy Starns Clark

2010-04-30T02:34:00.004-04:00

A Quarter for a Kiss is book 4 in The Million Dollar Mysteries series. Like the books before it, it is mostly fast-paced and wonderful at providing a suspenseful, little bit romantic, and a little bit spy/private investigator book. In this book, Callie's mentor has been injured and she is called upon to help figure out the mystery! You travel along as she discovers the Caribbean islands of St. Thomas and St. John (oh, now I want to go there too!) Very good and I would highly recommend this whole series! :)

Book Review - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

2010-04-30T02:16:00.005-04:00

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson was an interesting book. That's codespeak (this time, not every time) for I didn't really like it.

There are no chapter breaks, just paragraph separators and the book available at my library was large print so I just had no idea really where I was or how much farther were parts going to go on. The story rambles on as a journal entry/letter from a father to the son he never expected to have. It starts when he learns that he is dying (never tells from what) and what he wants to tell his (around age 7) son about his experiences and family history and life before he keels over (sorry to be crass but it's true).

There are lots of good "prose" so to speak and interesting/challenging theological thoughts. He is a pastor and so he writes a lot about how he can influence a congregation and the weight of that burden. I think that is why John Piper is still thinking about this book and it is very good in that aspect. I could see this being a Bible college or seminary recommended outside reading book.

But for the rest of us, it was a long dreary long winding never seeming to finish a thought kind of book. I got very frustrated that there wasn't enough background in descriptions for me to understand who he was talking about or the situation he was describing. Few dates were given so I wasn't sure what time period he was talking about. It was like listening to an elderly (very distant) relative rattle on about his life day after day after day, someone who you don't know and don't really care about or have a shared history.

One thing I think the author did a good job was telling a story from the perspective of the opposite gender, I think it is hard for men to write from a women's perspective and vice versa. :)

Book Review - Greater Love by Robert Litlow, really review of Tides of Truth Series

2010-04-30T01:11:00.010-04:00

I should just review Greater Love but since it's part of the Tides of Truth series, I'd rather review the whole series. And I wanted to finish the series before I critiqued parts of the books. :)

--Basic Synopsis--
Book 1 - Deeper Water - Tami is a law student doing a summer internship at a law firm. She meets two men that she is interested in and that provides the "romance" element of the book. She stands up for her beliefs in what types of cases she'll take and how she'll work on them, but she does find herself working together a lot with another summer intern, Julie, who is Jewish and challenges Tami's beliefs and personality at almost every turn. Will she survive the summer?

Book 2 - Higher Hope - Another interesting case is being thrown upon her because it involves (Reverend) Sister Dabney, an unusual lady in the town who seems to know and see into men's souls. Who should Tami court/bring home to meet her family?

Book 3 - Greater Love - Tami is finishing up law school and accepts a position for after graduation. But did she make the right choice? A case involving a runaway is the "major" case in this book but Sister Dabney also seems to unravel Tami's life.

--Review--
I was glad to have the second book out when I finished the first because I wanted to know what happened!! However, I did have to wait a bit before the third book came out and it's hard for me to be patient! I thought Tami was a great character and I applaud how firm she is in her beliefs and willingness to stand up for those beliefs and show real INTEGRITY in how she works. However, considering my belief that women should not be pastors or preachers I do not care for Sister Dabney's character very much. I think she is an interesting person and I appreciated her care for the homeless and downtrodden in the area. I just got very tired of her chair rocking and visions and that she wasn't under any church leadership at all. Tami and her family, and Sister Dabney are definitely more pentecostal or charasmatic (sometimes it's hard to differentiate) than I am with my Southern Baptist roots! I liked that Tami started courting (not dating) and took her parent's involvement very seriously. But I think she should've been more decided on one "beau" before she started courting though this did provide tension in the book. I also didn't like how she thought she should drink coffee like her parents did - be willing to start your own traditions instead of depending on your parents! :) Overall a very worthwhile series with a little romance, suspense and a good amount of "lawyering" in it.

[Possible spoiler - Sister Dabney and her husband had started the church but he had run off with another woman and Sister Dabney took over. I discussed this with my husband and I could see her taking over leadership for a short time until a male leader could be found but this was not the case b/c she had been leading the church for many years. (Titus 1:5-9)]

Review - Busy Mom's Bible

2010-03-26T02:34:00.004-04:00

I received a Busy Mom's Bible from Zondervan to use and review. I must say that this Bible has a beautiful cover without being too frilly or girly. I was impressed by the look and feel when I took it out of the box. It is very easy to locate the devotional "sheets" (DS) inside the Bible because they are colored and thicker than the Bible text pages. Each DS is broken into four sections, two on each side, with a different theme on the page. For example, between the pages of 2 Chronicles 20:1 and 2 Chronicles 21:15, there is a DS with the theme of Raising Your Kids. The first topic of the DS is Repeat Daily and there is a 1 minute reading, a 5 minute reading that expands on the 1 minute, a 10 minute reading that expands on the 5 minute, and a Word to take with you - Repetition. The DS are spread throughout the Bible but it is noticeable that the DS are not spread evenly (there are no DS before Joshua 7 or after 1 Corinthians 5).

I enjoyed the short DS and felt the topics covered were diverse and satisfying. I liked that the 10 minute reading had more verses at the back of the Bible, it makes it easy to look at a certain topic and see more information about it such as Bullies (Ps. 147:6, Gen 37:1-28, Ps 109:1-5, 26-31, Lk 6:31). This way you wouldn't have to flip through to find the DS on that issue, but just flip to the back and find more verses for encouragement.

My Dislikes
1)Why choose NIV? Maybe it's just my church but we tend to read the ESV or NASB for Bible translations. I do believe the ESV is more accurate and fairly easy to read.
2)The DS can be distracting. I especially think if you were in the middle of a sermon on a text that lies next to the DS, you would be very tempted to begin reading the DS instead of paying attention to the Bible text and sermon. (But this is common with any Study/Devotional Bible.)
3)Placement and way the DS is laid out. It would be nice if the devotion was right across from the verse it is listing, so if you wanted you could look at context!
4)Bible text pages are very thin and there's quite a bit of "see-through" from the next/previous page (though this is typical with standard Bibles these days).

My recommendations to give as a gift
1)would make a nice Bible for a new Christian who is a mom (or one who other moms seek advice from)
2)would be good for a mom-to-be or very busy mom - easy to place the Bible in a place where she could catch snippets or read verses and DS, while doing other things (not to be gross but like the bathroom or rocking chair or breastfeeding area).

Thank you to Zondervan for the chance to review the Busy Mom's Bible.

Spring Reading Thing 2010

2010-03-20T13:34:00.009-04:00

Yeah, it's that time of year again! Though I've only participated in the Fall Reading Challenge once, I enjoy each of the challenges by reading other bloggers' reading lists and reviews.

This year, my husband once again helped to make my list. I've provided Amazon links just to make it easier (no kickback).

1. Comforts from the Cross: Celebrating the Gospel
One Day at a Time by Elyse Fitpatrick - I've been using this as a daily devotional but don't always keep up. I just try to read every day and keep a bookmark with where I am in the book so I keep reading through it.
2. READ ~~Gilead: A Novel~~ by Marilynne Robinson - picked out by my husband, one reason is John Piper read it and is still talking about it!
3. Christless Christianity: The Alternative Gospel of the American Church by Michael Horton - my husband has read this and wants me to read it and discuss.
4. God's Big Picture: Tracing the Story-Line of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts - my husband picked it out.
5. Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety: Becoming A
Woman of Faith and Confidence by Elyse Fitpatrick - rinse, repeat
6. something by Charles Martin, depends on what's available at the library but I'd like to read Chasing Fireflies. I've already read When Crickets Cry.
7. READ ~~Greater Love~~ by Robert Litlow - third book in the Tides of Truth series. I'd like to see how this one goes before giving a review of the other two books in the series.

I assume I'll add more fiction especially b/c I want to start READ ~~book 4 of the Million Dollar Mysteries~~ series. Also my husband and I have a daily Bible reading time that I won't list. Please keep checking back for book reviews! :) Happy reading!

updated 4/30 to add read books (Gilead, Greater Love, and A Quarter for a Kiss (book 4 of the Million Dollar Mysteries) reviews here, here, and here respectively)

Book Review

2010-03-20T13:09:00.003-04:00

Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said by Victor Kuligin was picked by my husband to read for the Fall 2007 Reading Challenge. I'm a little late for the review. The book has lots of missionary stories from the author living in Namibia. But also challenges you to understand what Christ says and what the implications are of those words.

I specifically remember one situation that was quite troubling for the author - there was a woman who visited specifically when his wife was out of town. Then the woman spread rumors that certain things had occurred when his wife wasn't there. All of this was untrue and the woman had previously implicated other men so she was already known to be a liar. But this caused problems for the author's mission organization and interrupted their work there. A reminder to men here in the U.S. and abroad to be careful of putting themselves in awkward situations. It is better to follow the Billy Graham rule of never being alone with a woman other than your wife than to face the prejudices and implicating questions from others later.

Book Review - Christy by Catherine Marshall

2010-03-14T18:59:00.005-04:00

1994 - I was very fond of the CBS show Christy starring Kellie Martin. I didn't watch every episode but was disappointed when the series was canceled. I KNEW that the story wasn't finished and I really wanted to know what happened, did she marry? did she stay in the cove?

1999 - During our final year in college, my husband and I bought a TV and had cable (really the first time in my life to have cable and the only year we had it). We watched some PAX and later became interested in their miniseries Christy. Eventually, my husband bought me the whole DVD set from PAX and I found out who Christy married. I was quite shocked but happy. I felt it didn't quite live up to the CBS show b/c Kellie Martin wasn't in it. But it was nice to see some of the same actors playing the same characters. And it was good to see more of the story!

?2002 - Because I consider myself a reader, it was kind of weird that I still hadn't read the book by Catherine Marshall! I finally checked the book out and started it but couldn't get through it. A young lady at church said it was her favorite but admitted that the story is slow until about chapter four then it picks up. Ah - now I had a clue and very good tip but I still didn't read it. :)

Late Summer 2007 - My husband gives me the CBS series on DVD for my birthday. I watched all of the episodes eyeing the behavior of the 2 suitors b/c I now knew who she married. I had seen the book at my friend's house and she said it was one of her favorites and she'd like to borrow my DVD set. Once I decided to join the Fall Reading Challenge, I added the book to my list and asked my friend if I could borrow it.

Fall 2007 - I read Christy finally! But I never posted a review!

Almost Spring 2010 - I'm thinking about joining the Spring Reading Thing but I'd like to get this review done! :) I thought the book was very good. I could relate to Christy's challenge teaching the students as I've taught Sunday School and VBS before. One of the main things she says is about their language, does she correct it or leave it as their (ultimately) heritage from their mountain culture. (At our last church I was often appalled to hear kids using the word ain't, but do you correct it or leave it???) One warning I would give to others especially if your young daughter wants to read the book or you're sensitive to the topic is rape is brought up in the book. It doesn't happen to Christy but one of the other main characters a long time in the past. I felt some of the details were not needed and the description was a bit much for littler ears. It was nice to finally hear the "whole" story from the Christy book. I can't believe how many of the CBS series shows weren't based on the book, it just seemed like they took the characters from the book and then went on with whatever storylines they wanted or whatever they would've faced in those days.

I do realize that the Christy book is fiction, but based on Catherine Marshall's mother's life. However, it SEEMS so real it's hard to believe it's fiction. If you haven't read the book I highly recommend it AND if you haven't seen the CBS show I highly recommend it AND if you haven't seen the PAX miniseries I recommend it (to finish out the story). If you just can't get enough or want to experience where the filming of the CBS show took place, then you should check out ChristyFest here taking place this year on June 16-20. Can you tell I'm a fan?

Coming out of the woodworks

2010-03-08T04:54:00.003-05:00

So to speak! :) I've been trying to settle into a good routine that includes a little blogging, but haven't found that magic time yet! But I just HAD to post this after seeing it on Camy's blog. Camy Tang's first Sushi book, Sushi for One? is free to download from Amazon right now. It's a Kindle book but with Kindle for PC for free, you don't have to actually own a Kindle. It's a wonderful book and very funny plus you get to learn about all kinds of Asian foods and family dynamics. Camy is a wonderful author and very giving on her blog (hint - lots of giveaways and book suggestions), so add her to your Google Reader or Bloglines!

Halloween

2009-10-31T20:04:00.003-04:00

Is it ok to be more excited about fall back time change than Halloween?? We usually don't make a big-to-do about Halloween but since our son got a Spiderman costume given to him, we decided to let all the kids get dressed up and go trick-or-treating. Last year we participated in trunk-or-treat at church and had fun but it was hard b/c our oldest was just diagnosed in Sep with diabetes. I gave all the cars sugar free gum to give her to make sure she was given something she could have. But this year, we moved last month and our new church doesn't do anything (not that I blame them) so we decided to let the kids go door-to-door with daddy while I stay home and hand out candy. :)

So updates - we sold our house, we moved into a rental townhouse, and we're all still adjusting! We haven't had an "upstairs" since college (1999) so this has been a big adjustment for me. I need to check out all of the organizing tips for having an upstairs and downstairs b/c I used to always ignore that advice! :)

We've joined the Y here, so I'm starting to get some exercise and the kids are in the childcare there while I'm exercising. Probably not the best arrangement but it's FREE (well, included with membership payment anyway). Our oldest is participating in a basketball program so we have entered a new phase of having a child in a sports activity! I'm not sure the other 3 are going to enjoy watching games, etc but they'll have to live with it. I think it will work where we'll have the oldest in basketball, the 2nd daughter in ballet/tumbling/dance, and the boy in soccer where hopefully there won't be much overlap in schedules. It depends on when soccer starts, but I think that will be a doable schedule and each of them will get to do something. That's all for now!

Missy Moment

2009-07-30T11:33:00.000-04:00

[I wrote this and never posted it so I thought I would do it now! :) Life has been busy but we finally have a contract on our house and I feel like life might be going in a new direction and time to start writing again! More updates soon.]

I felt a little like Missy yesterday when I realized that the finger I just kissed might have something on it. My one-year-old had pajamas unzipped (a very new skill that I could do without!) and finger pointing out acting like it hurts (stuck in zipper maybe, hit with toy maybe?). After I kissed it I realized it wasn't a boo boo but had been stuck into a poopy diaper. Ugh!!! Go ahead and go here to read all the poopy stories. :)

And I feel a little more like Missy b/c our 3-year-old (yes 3 1/2) isn't potty-trained either. Feel free to come take over for me on this one. I was very comforted though when reading Feminine Appeal that Carolyn Mahaney's son wasn't potty-trained until almost 4. I'm not alone! :)

Update - personal challenge

2009-03-18T10:51:00.003-04:00

Well, the oven and stovetop got emptied and a small path was made to the closet but it still needs a LOT of work. This week's agenda is to get my Monday list done. I have a tear-off pad on our fridge (from the Target $1 spot) and the same week has been up there for ages. Monday has 3 things listed and I've been trying to get them done for well, ages. So that's this week's plan! Hope you're ready for Spring! :)

Helllllooooo!

2009-02-25T01:08:00.004-05:00

No, I haven't been far far away. And no I didn't forget my password. Just a bad blogger I guess! :) Life has been filled lately but I want to make a few personal goals/challenges and I'm counting on this being the best place to find myself some accountability. I think this Lent* season is a good time to work on our home. Yes, we're STILL trying to get it ready to sell just haven't been pushed yet. Well the kitchen and our master bedroom need the most work at the moment. So I'm challenging myself to have the stove clean (all dishes clean and out, top cleared) and a decent pathway to our closet by Saturday. Maybe I'll post pictures. One small step for man (or homemaker) but one giant step for mankind (or our family)!

*Lent is traditionally seen by Catholics as a time to give something up. I grew up in a Southern Baptist Church and attend a Southern Baptist Church now, we didn't do anything special for Lent just celebrated Easter (Good Friday wasn't even that important - at least as far as I remember). Our family now celebrates Advent leading up to Christmas and have thought about doing something for Lent but haven't yet. [Apparently, I'm not the only Southern Baptist who didn't do much for Lent, Megan and I do have that in common. Oh, and I totally do run-on sentences too!]

P.S. If you subscribe to my feed (hi hubby) you may not know I added label categories on my sidebar. Not a big deal but check it out. I did it all by myself! :)

Frugal Friday - free tax preparation if you qualify

2009-01-15T23:21:00.003-05:00

For today's Frugal Friday I wanted to talk about taxes. Ugh. For the last few years I start preparing my taxes by visiting the IRS' web site. Quite shocking isn't it! :) The IRS puts together a Free File web site that lists tax providers and their stipulations for filing your taxes for free. The web site begins Fri Jan 16 so if you go now (late Thur) you won't see much.

Year before last we filed our federal taxes with TurboTax for free. Last year we didn't qualify and used H&R Block's free program. The companies have gotten smart and usually give you a no frills level program but even if you start there it is usually cheaper to upgrade than if you started on the main page of the company's web site.

The IRS web site also lists free state filing options. Usually, we just go to our state's web site and file from there. Hope this helps someone in this tax season!

For other frugal hints, visit Crystal at Frugal Friday.

Hello again & Part 2

2008-11-15T23:15:00.003-05:00

I feel like I've fallen off my duff as far as blogging goes and it's completely true! :) Oh well, sorry to leave anyone/everyone hanging on the diagnosis of our oldest.

Here's the end of part 1, we were in the ER:
"Then the doctor came and talked to me, what I thought was possibly an allergic reaction to the antibiotic was something much more serious.

To be continued . . ."

He said that her blood sugar was over 530 (I can't remember the exact number) and that she has juvenile type 1 diabetes. He said that she would be transferred by ambulance (of course!) to the nearest children's hospital. I just kind of let my chin drop, mouth hang open, and it wasn't long until the tears started to fall.

She looked so sick (well kinda anyway), so thin, so pale. I had pulled her hair up and wrapped a pony tail holder over and pulled the hair through so it would be out of the way in case she threw up. She had on her pink pajamas. She looked very thin and like a ballerina. She should've been performing on stage (though my kids have never taken ballet is beside the point) not lying in a hospital bed about to go on an ambulance ride!

Next I had to call my husband and tell him. He was asleep when I called, I felt bad for waking him. I really didn't think he'd even remember what I said, or that he understood the seriousness but he seemed to.

Some of the nurses came in, checking on us before their shifts ended or to say some kind words (one had a niece who was diagnosed not long ago), also a hug and shoulder to cry on. I truly appreciated their kindness.

We waited (and waited) for the ambulance, then it was time. The ambulance guys (2 men) were kind but also funny. It was what I needed. They helped us get settled at the children's hospital. Then the hurry up and long waits started, fast blurs of activity then long stretches of quiet, lots of guilt and crying on my part. (just keeping it real!)

The last few months of vague illness and sickness would soon make sense. If you keep track of such things, her hA1c was 12 (I just had mine checked and it was 5.4, we're starting to aim for her to be less than 7).

Later, I searched for mommy blog posts but found almost none about this topic, maybe I missed them for some reason. I want others to know that there is someone else out there, though our journey is not the same, our child's treatment/bodies/ages/diagnosis story is not the same, I'm also living this scary nightmare BUT thankful that God is in control and that my child is still here! Type 1 juvenile diabetes is manageable, livable, and one day maybe we'll look back and be thankful. Here's one college student I've found that is thankful: Mollie writes at a blog about diabetes.

Part 3 coming soon (more about our hospital stay, ugh!) :)

WFMW - vacuuming the high chair

2008-10-08T00:04:00.000-04:00

Yes, it is that simple - vacuum the high chair (or booster seat) to clean it quickly. This works really well when the child has eaten something with LOTS of crumbs like crackers or you've let it build up for a while. Make sure you get under the highchair cover! For better nuggets of advice go to Shannon's. :)

My crazy life!

2008-09-27T15:14:00.004-04:00

I hope I got all of the cheese out from under my fingernail. I hate the feel of processed slice cheese, but children #3 and 4 will eat it so we buy it. :) I was cleaning the highchair tray and got some stuck under my fingernail, ugh. I think it's gone now.

Well, I've been kind of MIA on my blog (did anyone notice? Bueller, Bueller, Bueller?) I need to give a quick shout out to Michelle (http://thisonesforthegirls.wordpress.com/). She said she'd be reading!! :) We've been trying to get our house ready to sell (yes, we've been doing this for months now) so I've been busy organizing and decluttering. But last week other events took over our lives.

Our oldest had a "boil" and a friend's sister-in-law (she's a nurse) advised us to see the doctor. So on Wednesday (a week and a half ago) we went and she started on an antibiotic. (Apparently, yesterday's boil is today's staph infection! Who knew?) Thursday night she threw up twice and was breathing funny. Hubby and I were watching a movie (and it was midnight) but I knew she needed to go to the ER. So I packed her up and hubby went to bed.

The ER wasn't very busy (praise God) so we got right in. They drew blood and ordered a chest x-ray. She went to the bathroom a couple of times, we came back to our "room" and the nurse asked if I'd seen the doctor. I said no, and she said they needed to start an IV. I thought ok, so there is something going on!

Then the doctor came and talked to me, what I thought was possibly an allergic reaction to the antibiotic was something much more serious.

To be continued . . .

Win a coupon management system

2008-08-26T22:41:00.001-04:00

If you're like me, you could use some help organizing all of the coupons you have. This is a contest to win a coupon management system - and it looks beautiful. Please go here and enter too (or order one for yourself)!! :) Drawing will be held Thur Aug 27.

MIA

2008-07-29T11:43:00.001-04:00

Sorry I've been MIA. We've been REALLY trying to get the house ready to sell. I've been prepping, cleaning, and PAINTING! :)

Hoping to write more soon,
Need A Nap2

COW APPRECIATION DAY!!

2008-07-11T15:16:00.008-04:00

We appreciate Chick-Fil-A!! :) The kids and I went to Chick-Fil-A today, of course we dressed up like cows for some free food. We met a friend and her child (who were mildly dressed up). Last year we didn't see anyone dressed up but this year was a different story.

Here's one of my crew

Then here's the Chick-Fil-A cow

We used paper plates to draw cow faces on, then cut out ears and stapled them on. Two of my kids had paper grocery sacks to cover their torsos. The other two had white shirts with "spots" taped on them. Hubby was at work! :)

Yes, these pictures were taken AT Chick-Fil-A so we get extra points from Crystal at MoneySavingMom!! We saw several families that took white trash bags and added spots. One family (8 kids!) had white shirts with black skirts/pants and faces painted, they even had tails (one item I forgot completely). They were really cute.

What's going on?

2008-07-03T11:45:00.005-04:00

Or for you Southerners - what's goin' on?

We've been busy at the Need A Nap household. We've had some birthdays (or coming up soon) so we'll change everyone's ages, ok? We now have a 7 year old, 5 year old, 3 year old and 1 year old. We're still homeschooling year-round. That way if "momma's" having a bad day we don't have to worry about skipping school today. :) We've purchased most of the curriculum we want to use this fall and I'm glad to have been able to get so much of it secondhand. I still need to get our schedule/routine under control. Our 3 year old can open the childproof door covers and the 1 year old is weaned so our schedule has been needing some changes!! :)

We're still trying to get our house ready to sell. It's been slow and tedious. I'm hoping to get some painting done this weekend (with a friend's help) so things will look a little better. We're trying to get a carport roof leak under control (the contractor wasn't successful and hubby's been using many tubes of roof caulk to take care of it, saves us $ to do it ourselves). I'm so thankful my husband is willing and able to get up on our roof. I usually don't mind heights (or things like rollercoasters) but being up on the roof made me very anxious and uncomfortable!

Hubby's birthday and our anniversary are coming up. I'm expecting both to be low-key events. We had a bigger celebration last year for our 10-year anniversary. And I gave hubby a surprise party for his 30th birthday a couple years ago. Any gift suggestions?

I'm hoping to do a little less blog reading and catch up on my Bible reading then maybe I'll be able to blog here a little more. We'll see! I did take the time to do 2 quizzes. I saw the first one at A Reforming Mom and both at Stray Thoughts.

This is a test for men or women on how they'd be as a 1930s spouse.

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Superior

Take the test!

I was surprised I scored so high!! I don't think I'm that good of a homemaker but I guess I might be doing better than I think (my husband always says I am).

This was a test on your book reader personality. (Take the quiz here.)

Your Personality: Serial Eclectic Reader!
Your responses show that you are both a serial reader and an eclectic reader, which indicates that you both read widely and frequently.

As a serial reader you're loyal to your favorite authors, but as an eclectic reader you're also open to new ideas and new writers, and are not wedded to a particular genre. That you manage to both keep up with your favorite authors and explore new writers indicates that you are likely to be what the research companies like to term a "heavy reader" - and a BookBrowse membership might be just what you've been looking for!

I thought this was very accurate for me. I do have a selection of favorite authors/series but am willing to read a book that sounds interesting or is highly recommended.

Super Savings Saturday

2008-06-14T01:02:00.000-04:00

I haven't participated in this in a LONG time. But since I actually have a picture, I thought I'd post. My best deal over this last week (besides free diapers from L., thank you so much!), is probably 2 containers of .99 strawberries. Strawberries were on sale at Kroger 1.99 for 1 lb container. Not the greatest deal* (but the best advertised this week). However, when I went in there were several containers marked down to $.99. Yeah! I was planning to make strawberry shortcake but the kids and I devoured almost one whole container yesterday and will probably eat more today so we'll have to hold off on the strawberry shortcake. Lesson for you - keep your eyes peeled for those "manager's special" stickers at Kroger!! :)

Next best deal this week, at Meijer I was "trolling"** for coupons from the U-scan checkouts and found one that was badly mangled, $5 off $25 purchase. I just gave it to the friendly cashier and she took care of it for me - yeah!!

Feel like sharing or being inspired? Visit Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom.

*When I went to Meijer their strawberries were $1.50 (but I paid less ha ha na na boo boo!). I like the lower prices at Meijer but their strawberries can be iffy sometimes. Usually their strawberries have to be eaten that day or the next, however the strawberries I previously bought at Kroger were much fresher and seemed to last longer.

**trolling (not sure if I made this up or read it elsewhere) - looking for coupons others have left, usually people will just lay them down on a shelf but sometimes the coupons are left intentionally at the self-checkout (no cashier to force them into your hand). I've also been known to dig through the trash can at Kroger (shh - don't tell anyone!). :)

Frugal Friday - saving when you wear contacts

2008-06-06T10:47:00.003-04:00

As usual, I'm a little late to the party. Crystal had a post about saving on buying contacts and the comments were really good too. I have been wanting to write a post about saving $ when you wear contacts - how you use solution, etc. I started wearing contacts when I was sixteen. I took a hiatus from them (glasses seemed so much easier) for about 2 years (age 19-20) but have been wearing contacts almost all of the time for the last few years.

At first I used saline solution, cleaning solution, and weekly enzyme tablets (these were not disposable lenses!). Then enzyme drops came out so the weekly tablets were replaced with a daily drop into the case. Probably five years ago, the one-step solution came out. I tried the Opti-Free Express (because I had been using their solutions and enzyme drops) but it irritated my eyes so I went back to the old way. A couple of years ago, my eye doctor convinced me to try Aquify and I started using the one-step solution. This seemed kind of expensive to me so I figured out how to make it cheaper. I bought basic saline solution (Wal-Mart generic kind) and put that on my fingers to remove my contacts and to "wet" my fingers when rinsing with the all-in-one solution. (Fill your contact case with the all-in-one.) In the morning, I just dip my finger in the case to wet it then pull out the contact. I've found no rinsing is needed AND it hurts my eyes to rinse with the saline solution (if it is truly needed to rinse then the stinging goes away after a minute or two of blinking). Recently, there was a freebie for a sample of Opti-Free Replinish and I found that it worked for me. With coupons and sales, I was able to get 2 bottles of the Opti-Free Replinish cheaper than the Aquify. I have also found that telling my eye care place I need some sample bottles to travel with is a good way to get some for free. :)

For the last 2 years, I've been using two-week disposable contacts that have a better oxygen transfer (or something like that) so it's ok to sleep in them. I usually take them out every other night and keep wearing the contacts for one month. This also saves on solution and contact replacement. I tried the BEST ones before (I think you could keep them in even longer) but they irritated my eyes too badly. I'm wondering what my next appointment will bring though, my astigmatism was pretty bad last time and the doctor suggested trying the astigmatism contacts, anyone have those? Any difference in wear and care?

For other frugal hints, visit Crystal at Frugal Friday.

Hmm, busy and music

2008-06-06T00:53:00.003-04:00

We've been busy this week with VBS but I just HAD to post about Shannon's giveaway. Go check it out here. WOW Hits 1 is a new compilation CD, full of hits from some of my favorite Christian recording artists, including Steven Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns and Chris Tomlin. You can see more details here. The nice folks behind WOW Hits 1 are offering TWENTY winners each a boxed set of 17 CDs, one CD for each of the artists represented on WOW Hits 1.

I love the music of Steven Curtis Chapman and can recommend (well, any) his newest release This Moment which is one of the CDs to win!

However, this giveaway is for bloggers only so what are you waiting for? Start your own blog!!

WFMW - flushable wipes are not flushable!

2008-05-21T00:12:00.002-04:00

It's another WFMW.
I have to admit that I can be a sucker for advertising, but surely if the instructions say that the wipe is okay to flush down your toilet then it should be ok to flush down your toilet, right?? Apparently, not. I've spoken to others (and my husband has too) and some of our plumbing issues (you don't want to know, trust me) might be attributed to using flushable wipes (cleaning ones and toddler ones) that we *actually* flushed down the toilet. Please line your bathroom trash can and begin putting those flushable wipes in there b/c you don't want to clog your sewer line with *supposedly* flushable wipes! Just to let you know - not flushing those flushable wipes works for me! :)

As always, check out Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for more helpful tips.

Frugal Friday - free software to download

2008-05-16T00:01:00.000-04:00

I haven't used this site very often but it is part of my bloglines so I wanted to let you know about it. Every day there is a different licensed software to download for free at Giveaway of the Day. I try to look at the comments before considering whether this is a good program or not, but understanding that some people don't seem to understand the POINT of the web site or how to use it properly. I don't care what the "suggested price" of the software is, if it's TODAY's choice it is free! :) Also the user comments will sometimes point to a better program/website. So there's one to add to your favorites but take the price into consideration, I don't think every free software download is a good one.

For other frugal hints, visit Crystal at Frugal Friday.

WFMW - Theme of what Doesn't work for me!

2008-05-07T00:01:00.000-04:00

This is a fun theme! As a frugal person, I would like to be able to accept new ideas and begin implementing them to help with our family budget. One idea that HAS NEVER worked for me is outside line-drying clothes. I have allergies (ok, major allergies) and line-drying outside just deposits all of the "crud" into the laundry which just intensifies my allergic reaction (or "which almost brings me to death's door" according to my husband). :)

The second idea (ok, I would like to implement this but haven't yet) is to use cloth napkins and kitchen towels instead of paper napkins and paper towels.

And those two tips do NOT Work For Me! As always, check out Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for more.

Hello!

2008-04-29T14:39:00.002-04:00

Hello? Anyone there? Bueller ... Bueller ... Anyone ... Anyone??

Sorry, we've been a tad busy with traveling and other things. Do you know how hard it is to pack for 6 people? Very hard!! :)

I hope to post a WFMW tomorrow if hubby will let me on the computer. TTFN.

WFMW - Greatest Hits themed edition

2008-04-02T00:48:00.005-04:00

This was one of my first WFMW, I'm not sure it's my *best* one (read here about brownies - yum) but I still think it is the *most important*. Enjoy!

Do you have airline miles that are about to expire? Or are you changing credit cards and don't know what to do with the airline miles you have accrued (maybe the amount is too small to take a trip)? I have an idea for you!! (Sorry to sound like a commercial.)

Donate your airline miles. You may know someone who wants to take a missionary trip but doesn't have the $$$. Usually, the most expensive part of a missionary trip is the airline ticket. My husband has done mission trips using donated miles. A person from our church helped by donating miles, it wasn't enough for the whole trip but covered part of it.

Remember it never hurts to ask. I'm not sure of other organizations that would take donated miles, this is one I know of - The Centers for Apologetics Research (http://www.thecenters.org/).

Donated miles - it Works For Me!

UPDATE - per texastanya in the comments, you can donate to Fisher House which flies a wounded service men or assist families of wounded service men get to wherever the soldier is being treated.

Please help

2008-03-27T14:13:00.002-04:00

Please help a fellow homeschooler. By taking the survey and linking on your blog, you may be entered for a $25 Amazon gift certificate at Half Pint House. Please go help her!! :)

WFMW - young child's bath

2008-03-26T11:39:00.002-04:00

It's another WFMW.

This tip has been rolling around in my head for awhile. When our kids were 1 or so, it became a little more difficult to give their bath but I came up with an idea that has worked beautifully!! When you wash their feet, say "this little piggy . . .", you can start with the big toe then wash BETWEEN the toes before going to the next toe. So (big toe) this little piggy went to the market (wash between the big and 2nd toe) then this little piggy stayed home . . . (had roast beef, had none, cried wee wee wee all the way home). I can't guarantee that this will work on your older children (age 4 or so) but even they laugh sometimes. This really works for us because we bathe our kids once a week. OK, my secret's out. My cousin thought it was horrendous but after watching our kids she totally understood.

And those two bath tips are what Work For Me! As always, check out Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for more helpful tips.

Quiz scores

2008-03-09T21:39:00.003-04:00

More than Shannon!!

I Scored a 87%!

Awww, not as good as Shannon. :(

44%

needanap2.blogspot.com/

WANTED FOR THE SMELLY KILLING of a SHALLOW TURKEY

$2300

What's Your Blog Wanted For?
I had to do this over, the first one said someyhing about a kitten that was not appropriate (I am a selective cat lover!!). I don't have 2 hands to type (everyone say hi to the baby) or I'd take the other quizzes. :)

WFMW - Backwards edition, selling a house

2008-03-05T00:01:00.005-05:00

It's another WFMW, a Backwards edition. I get to ask you for help/advice.

We know that we'll be preparing our house to sell it (planning to list it in the next two months). We have no idea what we're doing and any advice would be extremely helpful.

Specific areas

1) best time period to list our house

2) increasing curb appeal (what do you look for?)

3) maintaining cleanliness and order

4) how to do #3 with 4 children around!!

5) how to deal with "drop-ins" (would an "appointment-only" schedule be better?)

6) realtor-speak related to selling

7) Hmm? What's that? We have no linen closet so this is our make-shift shelf thing in the hallway. It holds many things. Diapers and wipes, I think I can move these to a "diaper-changing" basket. Towels, washcloths, and sheets - I have no idea what to do with these. I've moved the 2 oldest's sheets to a drawer in their dresser. Any thoughts as to how to rearrange this or get rid of it (does it look as bad as I think it does?)???

As always, thank you for help/advice/suggestions/commiserations! :) See Shannon for more WFMW!

Frugal Friday - saving on condiments

2008-02-29T00:00:00.004-05:00

I LOVE K.C. Masterpiece bbq sauce, but it is expensive. (At least to me and our budget.) I look for sales and coupons but they are few and far between. BUT I can still save $ on my fav bbq sauce and other condiments (such as salad dressing). Look for a condiment bottle that has the "squeeze top insert". Having this insert allows me to pour out a smaller amount (less waste) and have more control over where the sauce is going. Then when you are done with that bottle, pop the insert out with a fork. Stick the insert in the dishwasher with your silverware (make sure it gets clean), and put the insert into any bottle that doesn't have one! :) You may need to look at different bottles to find the right size insert (there seems to be a standard small one and large one). I will admit to buying bbq sauce on sale (I will use it) mainly for the insert. I know these have inserts: Bull's-Eye (small), Sweet Baby Ray's (large), and K.C. Masterpiece (depends on the size of the bottle-the small 18 oz doesn't have it).

The next step is when the bottle is almost empty, remove the insert and set your bottle upside down to let the remaining amount drip out. I will often do this when having french fries at home. I'll pop out the insert and dip my fries in the remaining bbq sauce (that's left in the insert). Then stick the bottle on my plate allowing the rest of the bbq sauce to come down. I am seriously addicted to bbq!!

Some condiments don't work well with the insert, one example is a really chunky salad dressing just doesn't come out very well. The squeeze bottle format is great though for other salad dressings (especially when you want to monitor how much you're getting).

For other frugal hints, visit Crystal at Frugal Friday.

Super Savings Saturday - CP mail, Target string cheese, Meijer Dole salad

2008-02-16T14:55:00.004-05:00

It's Super Savings Saturday at Money Saving Mom. I have some pictures!

I sent in for my freebies on the Colgate-Palmolive deal and it came this past week. Sample sizes of Speed Stick, Softsoap, Colgate Total, and a soft full Colgate 360 toothbrush!! Plus bag and coupons. The coupons expire 6/30/2008. Just thought you might like to know what you can expect in your mailbox soon. I also got my Excedrin rebate and the Chick-fil-A calendars and coupons (no $ on the gift cards) this past week.

I was finally able to go to Target for free string cheese (no overage) and I got free salad at Meijer this week!! :) Overall a very GOOD week!

Frugal Friday - fish and seafood

2008-02-15T13:40:00.003-05:00

Well, for the unintiated (which was me, I grew up Baptist) - it's Lent time. Usually Catholics take a vow to abstain from something during the 40 days of Lent. They're also to not eat meat but most only observe this on Friday. (I don't understand why fish and seafood aren't considered meat.) Which leads us to the frugal part, during Lent you can purchase fish and seafood on sale. Also, if you choose to eat out most places are offering fish sandwiches and seafood on sale. Enjoy!

For other frugal hints, visit Crystal at Frugal Friday.

Hey!

2008-02-13T14:49:00.004-05:00

I've probably run off the 2 readers I have by not posting much. Sorry, we're still in the midst of a bit of a plumbing crisis. It started (no joke) about 3.5 years ago!! Hopefully it will be resolved in the next few weeks. (Not an ongoing 3.5 year crisis, just a tree issue we've been dealing with for 3.5 years.)

Anyhoo, I need to get back to homeschooling. But be quiet, he's sleeping . . .

Bloggy Giveaways - winner!!

2008-02-03T00:07:00.000-05:00

I wish I could give a copy to everyone, however only one person can win.

Random Integer Generator
Here are your random numbers:35
Timestamp: 2008-02-03 05:10:28 UTC

monk5 [@] charter [.] net

If I don't hear back I'll redraw on Wednesday.

Congratulations Monk5!!

Frugal Friday - saving upc's

2008-02-01T00:03:00.001-05:00

Thank you Crystal for hosting Frugal Friday. Many of you probably already keep upc's but I wanted to explain my system and highlight a few good offers.

Upc's are the coded numbers that scan at a register to give the product info and price. Some companies offer "specials" for keeping your upc's and sending them back in. 1) rebates - often rebates will require the upc (cut out) and cash register receipt (item and price circled) plus rebate form 2) trading upc's for items - often companies will have an offer of sending in upc's and $ (usually for shipping and handling) for a "themed" product, for ex. Kellogg's bowls 3) trading upc's for coupons - send in upc's and the company will send you coupons back.

The last offer - coupons, is the one I want to discuss today. I know of 3 companies that are doing this right now. Advance products (also called Fast Fixin') has a "fanatic" club. You sign up and they send you coupons. Then you can use those coupons to get products, save those upc's, and send 10 back for more coupon(s). I have done this a few times now - the coupon(s) are for a free product up to about $7-8! I haven't seen this recently at my available stores - but I know some of you still have access to the styrofoam Fast Fixin chicken products. Often these will be on sale for $1. You can send in those upc's to get a free product! Beech Nut baby food also has a sign-up club, you can get coupons (just call them at 1-800-Beech-Nut (1-800-233-2468) Mondays through Fridays, 8am to 5pm CT ), and then send in upc's to get more coupons. (Please don't yell at me for serving jar food. I've made homemade baby food before. It just hasn't worked as well for me. I also try to get my children off jar food ASAP and onto ground up/smashed table food, OK?) The last is Pepsi-Frito Lay deal, there's a peelie on the 12 packs where you buy 3/12-packs of Pepsi products (or so many 2L or 24 packs) and 3/9 oz or larger bags of Frito-Lay chips, mail-in the form with the original receipt(s) with items purchased between 12/26/07 - 2/6/08, and the UPCs. Then, you will receive: 5/$2 off coupons for future purchases on Pepsi Products, 1/$2 off coupon for future purchases on Frito-Lay Products, 1/$3 off coupon for future purchases on Frito-Lay Products. Offer requests must be postmarked by 2/22/08. (HT for the details: Money Saving Mom.) (I did this type of deal before with Pepsi and it was great.) I hope I've helped out at least one person.

Ok, so now you have a counter full of upc's, what to do? If I have trouble distinguishing a upc or I have a large collection, I'll label a ziploc sandwich bag with a sharpie marker and always put the upc's in that bag. We have one drawer (under our silverware drawer) that holds ziploc bags, foil, saran wrap, and UPC's/box tops. So I have a place for these items. If you're fond of keeping box upc's but don't know what the product is, then write on the back what the product is.

Another "win" for me was my popcorn bowl. I receive the Orville Redenbacher e-newsletter. One time it featured a free popcorn bowl for sending in two upc's. I knew I had two available in my pantry. So I sent them in (no S&H even) and waited. And waited. But I sure was excited the day my bowl came!! I do love it. :)

Look at Crystal's other Frugal Fridays here.

Video!

2008-01-29T16:45:00.000-05:00

My husband said I HAD to post this. I'll see if I can figure this out.

This is about homeschooling. Count the kids! :)

Thank you Blogging Basics 101!!

Bloggy Giveaways Carnival - a book

2008-01-28T00:28:00.000-05:00

I decided to join in and participate in the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival this time. But what to give away? Admittedly, I'm not the most original person and I'm quite frugal so I'm going to give away a hardcover book I own. If you are the lucky winner, you will receive Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur (read once by me). I thought this was a very good book. Shipping is included for U.S. addresses, would it be possible to mail a book internationally for $5 or less? If you'd like to enter and we could work out shipping charges (if over $5 internationally) then go ahead. (If not, I apologize, please re-read the sentences above (I'm frugal).) :)

Enter giving your e-mail or blog address (if I can link to your blog through your comment that's fine). Only enter once! I'll draw a winner at approximately 11:59 P.M. Sat. Feb. 2 Eastern time.

More info on the book:
Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You
Celebrated for their courage, vision, hospitality, and spiritual giftedness, it's no wonder women were so important to God's plan revealed in the Old and New Testaments. It wasn't their natural qualities that made these women extraordinary but the power of the one true God whom they worshipped and served.
In Twelve Extraordinary Women, you'll learn more than fascinating information about these women, you'll discover-perhaps for the first time-the unmistakable chronology of God's redemptive work in history through their lives. These women were not ancillary to His plan, they were at the very heart of it.
Women featured - Eve, Sarah, Rahab, Ruth, Hannah, Mary, Anna, The Samaritan Woman, Martha and Mary, Mary Magdalene and Lydia

More giveaways at Bloggy Giveaways. More info/rules here.

Super Savings Saturday

2008-01-26T01:00:00.000-05:00

This is my first time to participate in Super Savings Saturday. Sorry I don't have any pictures, maybe later today.

Best deals
Meijer - free Dole salad (.01 overage) price 1.99 buy 1 get 1 free then 2 $1 coupons from here (thank you Money Saving Mom and iMommies). *Updated - there is another B1G1F salad deal again this week (not sure if it's $1.99 though).
Walgreens - free Jane makeup (2 eye shadows and concealer, paid a little for tinted moisturizer), planning to send in the rebate for Purell hand sanitizer

I'll hopefully be getting some stuff at CVS later today.
And hopefully I'll be getting some free wipes (at Rite-Aid I had to get a raincheck for the Lansinoh wipes) sometime soon.
*Updated - I did get to go to CVS, however once again I blundered. I either gave her the wrong card or she scanned the wrong card so I messed up using some of my ECBs. It all worked out but I did spend a little more than I wanted. She wouldn't let me "stack" so that messed me up a little too. On the upside, I had one transaction finish at $.00 OOP and one at $.01 OOP!! :)

Good deal
Kroger - Kraft cheese is $2 but by buying 9 "Game Day essentials" you get $6 off at the register, so $1.34 per package. (Not as good of a deal as $.99 cheese at Walgreen's but I prefer mozzarella, and Walgreen's was out of cheese!) *Updated - this Kraft cheese deal does seem to be going another week.
Meijer - Beechnut baby food 2nd jars are $.33 (thanks to Heather at Freebies 4 Mom and another source I had some extra coupons). Again, not the greatest deal but not bad. A catalina printed for Gerber so that will come in handy. When looking around though I found that Del Monte is only $.32 so I'll be going back when I'm out of Beechnut coupons.

For more or to share your own savings today, please visit Crystal at Money Saving Mom.

Vision Forum giveaway

2008-01-23T15:14:00.001-05:00

Biblical Womanhood is holding a giveaway for $100 at Vision Forum. For your participating comment you get one chance and for a blog post you get a second chance. Here's the details:
To enter to win this $100 passport:
:: Visit Vision Forum's website, browse around, and pick out some of your favorite products.
:: Come back here and leave a comment with your name and tell us what you'll buy if you win the $100 passport. (Please make sure to leave a blog address or email so I can get in touch with you if you win!)
:: Bonus Entry! Post about this contest on your blog with a link to this giveaway post and then leave a separate comment below with the link to your blog post mentioning this contest and you will receive two entries into this giveaway!
:: This contest will be open until next Monday (January 28, 2008) at noon. I'll randomly choose and post a winner later on that day.
:: This giveaway is open to any entrant from around the world. One entry per person, except in case of posting it on your blog which allows you two entries per person.

Frugal Friday - eating out for Valentine's Day

2008-01-18T00:12:00.000-05:00

Some of you probably have a questioning expression on your face. Can eating out for Valentine's Day be frugal? Well, probably not! But there are a few options. My husband and I have learned that eating out on February 14th is not usually a good choice. The restaurants are crowded (even if you did make a reservation) and service is slow, etc. However I do LOVE to eat out and my husband likes to make me happy so sometimes we'll go out FOR Valentine's Day just not ON Valentine's Day. February 15th is a great day to choose (except this year b/c it's a Friday when traditionally a lot of people eat out) but probably this year Monday February 11 is a good choice (Tuesday nights are kids' night at some of the restaurants we might choose, and date night and kids' night don't mix). Another option if you really want to eat out is to contact some "fancy" restaurants about their Valentine's Day specials. Usually these only run on Valentine's Day and this is still early enough to make a reservation. For example, last year (or the year before or the year before, I can't remember) I called The Melting Pot (a fondue-ish hip place) and though it was still expensive to eat there they did have a Valentine's Day special, usually restaurants will have a special menu and selections just for 2 people and the price includes appetizer/meal/dessert/maybe drink. This might be a good way to eat out on Valentine's Day (if you so choose), remember make your reservations NOW! For a frugal approach, I would suggest looking at Amy's New Year's Eve special dinner at home.
Look at Crystal's other Frugal Fridays here.

Grammar quiz

2008-01-17T13:41:00.000-05:00

Okay, my grammar doesn't totally stink!

You Scored an A

You got 10/10 questions correct.

It's pretty obvious that you don't make basic grammatical errors.
If anything, you're annoyed when people make simple mistakes on their blogs.
As far as people with bad grammar go, you know they're only human.
And it's humanity and its current condition that truly disturb you sometimes.

The It's Its There Their They're Quiz

I do pretty well with those type of questions (it's, its, there, their, and they're (the there/their/they're are a pet peeve of mine). Other issues in grammar (lay/lie, etc etc) not so good!

WFMW - check expiration dates

2008-01-16T00:05:00.000-05:00

Not exactly new news but good anyway! Check your "use by" and "best by" and any other expiration-type dates. I tend to stockpile groceries when there's a good sale. However this can be a bad thing when you have company over and have to ask your husband to taste the croutons to make sure you're not going to kill anyone with passed the "best by" date croutons they might put on their salad. It is now 2008 (in case you didn't know)! :)

As always, check out Shannon at Rocks in my Dryer for more helpful tips.

Frugal Friday: Dollar Stretcher web site

2008-01-11T12:19:00.000-05:00

When I first started looking online for information about saving money and how to stretch our budget I felt lucky to find Dollar Stretcher. Every link is dated so you can easily find out if it's older information or brand new. I will admit I don't visit the site every week like I used to, I do visit Crystal's Money Saving Mom though! I think Dollar Stretcher (now featuring Dave Ramsey) is really useful though, there's lots of reader tips and information about saving money and stretching your dollars! :)

Look at Crystal's other Frugal Fridays here.

WFMW - Backwards edition, Couch questions

2008-01-09T16:36:00.000-05:00

It's another WFMW, a Backwards edition. I get to ask you for help/advice.

Our couch is a faux (fake) suede material. We love the look and feel (well, we did when we bought it). But now that we've had several children wipe their snotty noses and other things on it it doesn't look very pretty. Any advice on cleaning this material? Something quick I could use to get little "spots" out? I've thought about using fabric cleaner spray on it but I think I would have to dose the whole thing and it would take days to dry out - not a good option when company is coming in 30 minutes!

Another question - the cushions are always sliding out (especially when the kids are sitting/jumping on them. Any ideas to help with this? I keep pushing the cushions (not the kids) back in but it's really a pain.

As always, thank you for help/suggestions/commiserations! :) See Shannon for more WFMW!

Good reading about "Homemaking" profession vs At-home-mom titles

2008-01-07T23:21:00.000-05:00

I thought Elizabeth at A Merry Rose: Blooming as Keeper of My Home wrote a very good post about titles and how you might think of your "career" as homemaker or stay-at-home mom or at-home-mom. Please go read! :)

I commented, "Great writing! I say homemaker when a 'career' is asked, I'll say 'stay-at-home' sometimes adding mom or mother when someone asks (for example at the store when they see my child(ren)). But to myself I probably say at-home-mom because my homemaking skills are greatly lacking!! My mom worked and I wasn't trained for this career. Our home was kinda a mess but adding 4 children in 6 years doesn't help! :) Nothing ever stays in the same place! I'm working on it and my husband thinks I'm doing a GREAT job (so I guess that's what matters the most)."

And this is my first post of 2008! Sorry, I've been a little absent. We hosted a New Year's Eve party for our Sunday School class at our HOUSE! Aaahh! So I've been doing a lot of cleaning and rearranging and some decluttering. We still have lots to work on though! Then we had a family over after church yesterday. Aahh. More cleaning, rearranging and decluttering! During the evening service last night (I had a headache too!), I told my husband, "wow, now I can relax." I don't think I realized how stressed I was. It's so nice to know no one is coming over for a while. EXCEPT it would be good to keep the house in a somewhat ready-for-company mode. We'll see. :)

I've Been Carded Meme

2007-12-23T23:31:00.000-05:00

I'm officially a blogger! :) I've been tagged! By whom you might ask?? I got CARDED by Tami at Tree Swing Reading (check out her book reviews and giveaways!!).

Ronie Kendig altered this CARDED meme to include a Spiritual Wish list so we can know how to pray for each other, both spiritually and physically. Isn’t that a great idea?
THE RULES:
1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for Christmas.
2. People who are "CARDED" need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.
3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get "CARDED" and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they're "CARDED", and to read your Blog.

My Materialistic Gift/Wish List:
1. a good haircut (someone could come to my house or a gift certificate would work)
2. a maid/housecleaner
3. gift cards to eat out
4. mp3 player (or iPod)
5. trees trimmed in our yard (so the limbs would stop breaking and falling on our roof!!)

My Spiritual Gift/Wish List:
1. work on the spiritual disciplines (especially Bible reading, study, and prayer)
2. to focus on physically taking care of myself (proper sleep, etc) to be able to take better care of my family
3. to reach out to others and evangelize more
4. to pray more for my husband
5. help our children see Christ and know Him better

The people I have carded:
Biscuits & Grits
Kelli at Living in Grace
Shannon at A Reforming Mom
Deena at Wholly Devoted and A Peek at My Bookshelf
and Stacy at With Great Joy

Fall Into Reading wrap-up

2007-12-21T18:54:00.000-05:00

Thank you Katrina at Callapidder Days for having Fall Into Reading 2007!! I did not finish my list but I think I've done well nonetheless. I had 8 books on my list and finished (and reviewed) 6 of them. I'm over 1/3 of the way through Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said, I plan to finish it and hopefully read Christy before the end of the year. I read my list in random order because I checked some out from the library.

I liked The God I Love ~ A Lifetime of Walking With Jesus by Joni Eareckson Tada the best. This book really seemed to speak to me, also encouraged me to live life, and it made me Laugh Out Loud! I liked The Camel Club by David Baldacci the least. That surprised me because he really is one of my favorite authors. Though I liked "the Camel Club" characters themselves the book was hard to follow and too much politicalness (see my review here). I'll definitely still keep reading David Baldacci books (and I still want to read the follow-up to The Camel Club but I'll know not to run out and buy it!). I enjoyed writing the book reviews though sometimes it's hard to express my passion (no hand waving, etc.).

I still like fiction better than non-fiction (no surprise)! But I really did enjoy the memoir by Joni Eareckson Tada so I might start looking for more memoirs/biographies. I do better reading a non-fiction book when my husband and I read it together and I have a "strict" schedule. :) I could list several reasons why I didn't finish my list but I won't. I'm still trying to get caught up in Bible reading to finish on Dec 31. My husband and I always set a goal of reading through the whole Bible in one year (broken into daily readings from OT, NT, Psalms and Proverbs). If you'd like to know an easy way - I've subscribed on my bloglines from One Year Bible Blog. Each day there is a link for that day's reading and a little info/commentary about the reading. Will you join me in 2008?

Links for Fall Into Reading original, reviews, wrap-up. My links for original list, reviews: The Camel Club, These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge?, Bleachers, Treasuring God in Our Traditions, When Sinners Say "I Do", and The God I Love: A Lifetime of Walking With Jesus.

WFMW - parchment paper and brownie tips

2007-12-19T04:19:00.001-05:00

I'm sure you've seen other posts about this but maybe you haven't bought it yet. I LOVE Reynold's parchment paper (there's probably some other brands, feel free to look around)! I have an airbake cookie sheet (got it a looonng time ago) and it's sorta scratched and yucky looking but when I put parchment paper on it I don't worry! :) Plus if you're baking cookies, you can probably scoop those cookies off and use the same paper again (saving $) for the next ones to go in the oven (cool your cookie sheet a little). The parchment paper really helps so you don't have to scrape the cookie sheet or possibly wash it between uses (did I really say that? do I sound a little lazy?). Look here for a free sample!

I also use parchment paper to line my square airbake pan (again, bought a loonng time ago) to bake brownies. It doesn't fold into the corners perfectly but that's ok, I usually cut the edges off (we keep and eat those) and send the cut up brownies for functions and gifts. I think brownies are best when frosted (yum, I promise it's all my husband's fault!!). Take a regular can of frosting, stir it, then frost semi-cool brownies (spread the frosting around before you cut them). If the brownies are semi-cool the frosting will "melt" a little and be really delicious. Another tip is to take a box mix and add 3 eggs instead of 2. This makes a more "cake-like" brownie (according to the Betty Crocker directions). I also recommend baking in an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan instead of 9x13. With the added egg, this makes the brownies much thicker and it seems to cook better (softer and not overdone). (Put the leftover frosting in the fridge, use it for your next batch of brownies, ice cookies with it, make smores, or frost graham crackers. I've left my leftover frosting in the fridge probably up to 1-2 months but the label will usually say 1-2 weeks.)

Enjoy! And these ideas, work for me! See Shannon for more tips. :)

Coupon Savings

2007-12-19T01:15:00.001-05:00

I thought I'd pass on my experience at Target tonight. The Kraft cheese coupon is good through this Saturday so I "bought" 4 more string cheeses (free after coupon), 4 bags of 8 oz. shredded cheese - these were 1.04 after combining a $1/2 coupon from a blinkie at Kroger my friend gave me! I also "bought" 4 packs of Huggies wipes (using the $3/2 Huggies products coupon) - 2 were trial size 16 wipes packs ($1.27) in the travel size area and 2 were 40 wipe packs ($1.47) from the baby area. The coupon wouldn't scan (may be due to having printer problems at home, others have had the coupon scan ok) so the clerk took $3 off for each so I actually had overage for the wipes.

More about books!

2007-12-17T16:39:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if I'm going to finish my Fall Into Reading list but I haven't given up yet!! In the meantime, visit Tree Swing Reading for her Really big week of giveaways - "I'm in a Christmas gift-giving mood and will be giving away a different Christmas book everyday for the week of December 13-19!"

Today's giveaway is TWO BOOKS! The Red Glove Collection by Karen Kingsbury and At Home for the Holidays by Meredith Efken.

Her question today - Are you the one in your family who's impatient to get to opening the presents or do you like to wait and torture others in the family who can't wait? Well, the kids are pretty excited about opening presents now. However, I used to be pretty impatient. I wanted to carry on the tradition from my family of opening 1 present on Christmas Eve but my husband has put his foot down and said, "NO!". Probably 14 years ago, my brother really wanted to open his gifts. My mom said if he washed all the dishes (we didn't have a dishwasher), he could open his presents after midnight. Then the rest of us went to bed. He washed all of the dishes and opened his presents!

Book Review #6 The God I Love

2007-12-08T11:20:00.000-05:00

The God I Love: A Lifetime of Walking With Jesus by Joni Eareckson Tada

Wow!! I really was intrigued by this book. I knew about Joni's (pronounced "Johnny") diving accident that landed her in a wheelchair and also that she painted. And I guess I knew she was married but I'm not sure I knew much more. This book definitely gives you more! :)

The book begins (probably her earliest memories) when she's about five and her family's on vacation. They are a family of non-stop adventure and Joni loves it. She faces the typical childhood issues of school, friends, and older siblings (in her case - only sisters). But also the non-typical of falling off horses, finding out the family secrets, and finding her place in her family but also living up to her "inherited" father's name.

Some of her stories and examples had me laughing out loud. I really felt like I was a part of her world (and time period!). (I've enjoyed other biographies where I felt like I was learning more about them BUT not actually there, with "The God I Love" I felt like I was there.)

One issue that stuck out to me was how her friends were still a part of her life after the accident. I'm sure their relationship changed but her friends were able to come to her "rescue", comfort, and make her life somewhat lighthearted again. That speaks to the depth and value she had, even in high school. (I haven't kept in touch with any high school friends, we went in separate directions after graduation with many going to different colleges around the U.S.) I know part of that is the grace of God in her life. You will be pointed toward God with each struggle and challenge Joni faces.

I can't imagine having my life played out on screen in a movie, but Joni not only went through that - she also starred in it. She also started Joni and Friends to reach out to others and across the globe who have disabilities and those who need equipment (like wheelchairs).

My only critique of the book would be that she jumps ahead in time (especially in the 3rd part) and it's hard to know "when" it is and what is going on. Warning - the book references (briefly) some "physical" struggles including losing her purity through bad choices she made in high school. However, I would highly recommend this book to older teens and adults!

Part of my Fall Into Reading 2007 list. Previous reviews - The Camel Club, These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge?, Bleachers, Treasuring God in Our Traditions, and When Sinners Say "I Do".

Book Review #5 When Sinners Say "I Do"

2007-12-08T09:26:00.000-05:00

When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage by Dave Harvey

I'm going to borrow a quote I saw posted at A Reforming Mom blog

"That's one of the ways in which the self-esteem movement works against the message of the gospel. The prevailing emphasis of our culture is to tell people that what's wrong with them is that they feel bad about themselves. If they will just feel better about themselves, they can be cured of anything.But the Bible says you'll never feel good about yourself until you learn first to feel bad about yourself. When you realize how bad things really are, then you are in a position to learn how to feel truly good. Then it won't be about you, but about the One who died to forgive your great debt so that you, in turn, can be a debt forgiver to others around you.Anytime I harbor animosity toward anyone, it is because I have diminished my sense of the debt I owe to the living God."-Alistair Begg

If you're ready to face your sin and feel bad about it then you should read this book. Though I won't get into Nouthetic counseling etc. right now, this book is from the viewpoint that problems in our relationships are due to sin. If you're sensitive to being told over and over again that you're a sinner (I am) then the first part of the book is rough but there is HOPE and it will get better. This book also addresses biblically confronting your spouse with his or her sin. As a Christian, we still need the gospel and this book reminds us of that. Marriage is used to sanctify us. I think the examples in the book are good, but there weren't enough of them! :)

My husband and I read this book together, usually reading and discussing 2 chapters each week. I would recommend this book for married couples, engaged couples and those seeking to be married. My husband recommends it for pre-marriage and marriage counseling. However, if you're not married I would strongly suggest skipping chapter 9. (Family friendly warning - this book is about marriage and so discusses issues pertaining to that relationship.)

Part of my Fall Into Reading 2007 list. Previous reviews - The Camel Club, These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge?, Bleachers, and Treasuring God in Our Traditions.

Book Review #4 Treasuring God in Our Traditions

2007-12-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper and John Piper

As I expected, I was not disappointed by this book. Not only did it point to great ways to celebrate throughout the year, it also pointed me closer to knowing the one we should celebrate - God and Jesus Christ. I think this is a great book if you have kids or if you don't. Everyone has traditions, sometimes you just have to dig a little to think about them. What legacy do you want to leave with others? What little things do you do automatically? I want to make a big deal about birthdays because it was a big deal in my family (not BIG parties but a special DAY), but my husband downplays it a little because that's how it was in his family. We're learning to compromise! :)

The book explains traditions, how to make them important, teaching traditions, and "everyday" and "especially" traditions, then talks about Christmas and Easter. I wanted to order Noel Piper's Advent Calendar for this year but when I called they were already sold out and they're redesigning it (or something, I was told) so I decided to make my own going for something similar to what she has, but it's turning out somewhere between a Jesse Tree and Advent calendar (I'll post about it later). Then my husband pointed out if we're doing this we really should do something for Lent (I used to think only Catholics did that!!), and I said that it talks about celebrating Lent and Easter in this book. So stay tuned to see if we start celebrating Lent!

The book also included poems by John Piper. I'm not sure if I'm not into poetry or just this type, I didn't really like them. I did enjoy the personal stories and letters. My one criticism of the book would be some of the spacing and "text boxes" were off a little, such as a box not having a closing line at the bottom (like it had been put on there but the overlapping wasn't done right so you couldn't see the line for the box). Also the font was small, if that's an issue and you can find a Large print edition - I would definitely buy it!

Part of my Fall Into Reading 2007 list. Previous reviews - The Camel Club, These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge?, and Bleachers.

UPDATE to add, GirlTalk blog posted today about this book and there's a link to hear Noel Piper speak.

Twenty-five Reviews of Christmas

2007-12-06T15:26:00.000-05:00

Deena at A Peek at my Bookshelf is having a special countdown to Christmas. She's reviewing 25 different books about Christmas! Go check it out and add her to your reader (bloglines, google reader, etc.) because she's also having giveaways!! And her reviews are awesome and she does other giveaways too. :)

Book Review #3 Bleachers

2007-12-05T23:49:00.000-05:00

Bleachers by John Grisham

This was different than a "standard" John Grisham book, but if you've read the synopsis of the book then you already know that. I think the book will be most enjoyed by those who can relate to it: football players, possibly cheerleaders, band members who participated in football games, football fans, football movie fans (like Remember the Titans), and those who are from/now live in a small town. My brother played football, I was in band, I went to school in a small town, and I love Remember the Titans so I definitely related to this book! This was a very quick read and I enjoyed it very much. My only criticism would be I kind of felt like the author gave away too much of the "secret" too early in the book. Usually John Grisham books have a shock or surprise but this one was lacking much of either one.

Part of my Fall Into Reading 2007 list, 3 more book reviews coming soon! Previous reviews - The Camel Club and These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge?

Laughing

2007-12-03T14:36:00.001-05:00

Have you been reading Shalee at Shalee's Diner? You need to read her IT dilemma she posted!!

30 Day Organizational Challenge (Whole Room) Wrap-Up

2007-11-30T23:55:00.000-05:00

As per this post I entered I'm an Organizing Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge to work on our office/family room (just called our office). As per this post, things this month have not gone as I planned or hoped! With the baby being sick, I just haven't gotten the rest I've been needing or the time/energy to work on the office as much as I'd planned. Needless to say, I'm pleased with what has been accomplished and gotten rid of. I would like to have something to cover the glass doors with but hopefully that can be addressed in December. A lot of laundry has been culled through, folded and put away (2 movies were watched in this process!), books have been rearranged and gotten rid of, 1 yard sale was participated in, a "brilliant" idea has been born for receipts and filing. I'm going to use a sandwich ziploc for each week (labeled) and then a gallon ziploc for each month. Then after 3 months the receipts can be shredded. So many stores are limiting returns to 3 months that I think this is a good time period to keep them. A separate envelope will be in the gallon bag for reimbursement and for receipts to keep (purchased appliances that need the original receipt - these are filed in the box). Per FlyLady (and others), I need to remember that a load of laundry isn't finished until it's folded and put away & to begin having an office day to address receipts, filing, and bank/budget issues - this will probably be Sunday.

Answering questions:
1) Hardest part - getting up early to participate in our church sale :) next was probably just getting a chance to work on everything b/c my husband was busy this month, 3 kids got sick, and Thanksgiving. I just tried to get a little time here and there to work on it, and put a lot of last-minute effort into it.

2) New habits/changes - laundry. This is a big issue obviously (looking at the before pictures). I'm making an effort to fold and put away laundry as it comes out of the dryer instead of letting it build up. Buying a pop-up hamper for the baby and toddler clothes has helped immensely! I really did need that. Another new thing was moving our filing box from on top of the fireplace area to under the desk. I really think it will help to have it accessible where I need it! :) I still need to discuss with my husband that every new book has to have a place before it comes into our house! My oldest child's comment, "Hooray, we have furniture" is definitely a shot into my heart that I need as a reminder that it's furniture not clothes holder.

3) Sold the computer desk chair, rocking chair and ottoman, speaker stands, some clothes, toys, and books. Outgrown and out of season clothes are stored in the kids' closets in totes. Some luggage went into our closet and some into our kids' closets. Trash!

4) Yes I think having this space is wonderful for us, it's nice to be around less cluttered spaces, and a place to sit and socialize. I know the kids will enjoy having room to move around. We're hoping to move the baby into the crib so the playpen could come down and open up the room some more. Implementing a filing system and plan for receipts will clear up clutter from the rest of the house, keep our finances more organized, and keep my husband off my back (he's always wondering where stuff is or how our checking account is doing). :)

5 or 6) I may have the biggest progress/better look but I'm not sure I should win b/c I feel like I wasn't able to give my full effort into this challenge and didn't make all of the changes I talked about (didn't get glass doors covered). However, I do feel we're more organized now and the room is definitely looking better! And new systems are being put into place. I guess it's up to the judges. :)

Before

After

All laundry folded and put away! Matching ottoman brought out of our living room because there's room in here for it. :)

New pop-up hamper for kids' clothes, on the lower left is my 2-step step stool now cleared off and ready to use.

CD spinner (on the right) is cleared off (top) but I probably need to put something pretty there so it doesn't turn into a hot spot (FlyLady). Bookshelves have been gone through (except a couple shelves), some purging and reorganizing. The only new container (was empty, came out of our room) is for the batteries, the small shoe box I had wasn't big enough after I found a good deal at K-Mart a while back! :) The diapers will be used, hopefully freeing up another shelf but this seemed to be a good spot to put them in the meantime. I used the diaper boxes for my husband's books that he was selling.

Playpen has been moved over because rocker and ottoman were sold, floor cleaned. The fireplace is covered with a blanket to keep the cold air out (we don't use the fireplace).

Here's the cleaner desk, computer chair has been replaced with a folding chair (hope to replace with another "rolling" chair soon). Filing box is under the lower right part of the desk within reach of sitting at the desk! :)

LOOK! I found the space heater! And there's room on the floor for it! :) Really just showing the bookshelves being less cluttered.

Any questions?? Here's the posts at Org. Junkie's for the 2 updates - whole room, one area.

Purge - this before picture shows the office chair and top of the rocker, one of the before pictures (black diaper bag, can see the arm rest of the rocker - it's wood) shows the ottoman.

one small bag of trash, as the space is being cleared out

one bag of trash (regular 13 gallon kitchen). Two diaper boxes worth of books (sold or waiting to be sold).

WFMW - shower head

2007-11-28T01:27:00.001-05:00

I believe every woman should have a "hand held" shower head thing. I'll link to one sold online at Wal-Mart. I'm not recommending this particular product just giving you a visual for what I'm talking about in case I'm not very clear (it's pretty late/early depending on how you look at it!). I'm talking about a "hand held" shower nozzle that slips into a holder that you replace a regular shower head with. Hopefully, your husband or friend is handy enough to install this for you if you're like me and completely clueless in areas that deal with plumbing. You will LOVE it. Why?

There are different settings so you can adjust the water flow, etc.

Take the shower head down and SPRAY your bathtub/walls. So much easier to clean! :)

Are you pregnant? Now you can reach every area if need be, 'nough said.

Do you have kids you need to bathe (ok, this one isn't working yet for us, but maybe some day), spray them off, especially when washing their hair.

Need to wash your dog OR cat? see above

It's so adjustable!!

Pull it down to wash your hair (for those days you just want to wash your hair, you can stand outside your bathtub and lean over it to wash your hair!).

I would recommend looking at hose length when buying, consider how far you want it to reach around your shower. (The one we got recently isn't very long and doesn't reach very well.) This is what Works For Me.

Thanksgiving and RECIPE

2007-11-25T22:40:00.001-05:00

Have you been wondering where I've been? Hmm, trying to keep the house running and 4 kids away from the doctor. I've been failing. I took all 4 in last Wed, 2 had ear infections (the oldest really wasn't sick anyway). Then today I took one to the immediate care center and lo and behold, another ear infection! What fun!! :)

We had a good Thanksgiving at home, just our family (didn't want to spread any sickness). I roasted a turkey (my 2nd ever), made gravy (yeah, it turned out okay unlike theirs, I feel their pain!), Stove Top Stuffing (bought at $.29), instant mashed potatoes (Betty Crocker cheese flavored, oldest thought they were good), sweet potato casserole (followed the recipe from the can of Bruce yams, adding a little extra brown sugar and miniature marshmallows), vegetable casserole (maybe I'll give that recipe sometime), canned jellied cranberry sauce, frozen rolls (Pillsbury wheat, we are very nutritious!), and pumpkin bars. I decided at the last minute to switch from pumpkin pie (not my favorite) to pumpkin bars (my husband might have been a little disappointed but he was gracious not to say so), and all of us (except the one who didn't like anything except the rolls) LOVED them! This is the same recipe as what I used - Pumpkin bars with frosting except my recipe says 15 oz pumpkin and adds 1-2 tablespoons milk for the frosting (to achieve desired spreading consistency). I feel this is not enough frosting to cover ALL of the pumpkin bars (might be a good choice to leave some unfrosted) so you might double the frosting recipe! :) As you can tell, I'm not a has-to-be-from-scratch kinda cook! Maybe some day I'll try a little harder.

I've also been trying to keep up with this and this. I need to write 3 book reviews, and work A LOT on our office. Hopefully, those will get done this week. :)

WFMW - Donate Airline Miles

2007-11-14T00:04:00.000-05:00

Remember it never hurts to ask. I'm not sure of other organizations that would take donated miles, this is one I know of - The Centers for Apologetics Research (http://www.thecenters.org/).

Donated miles - it Works For Me!

UPDATE - per texastanya in the comments, you can donate to Fisher House which flies a wounded service men or assist families of wounded service men get to wherever the soldier is being treated.

30 Day Organizational Challenge

2007-11-05T19:36:00.000-05:00

I've watched before, I've seen the transformations, and now I'm ready to participate!! Ok, I can't believe I'm doing this! My husband is cheering me on (thanks honey!). I'm submitting myself to I'm an Organizing Junkie's 30 Day Organizational Challenge. I'd like to work on our office/family room. We just call it the office. And it's terrible. There's a mountain of laundry, no make that 2 mountains of laundry. There's a ton of stuff on the floor. Ugh. And there's paper. Double ugh! But the desk isn't too bad (trust me it's been much much worse).

Plan of Attack

Mountains of laundry - folding party (maybe by myself, maybe with littles - we'll see), to fold and put away, stash in bins (summer clothes, outgrown clothes), give away, sell, or throw away ALL of the clothes mountain. I know there's a loveseat and chair there.

Desk - reorganize bill paying/filing system (need to implement system for receipts)

Clean up floor - put away items that don't belong in office, develop a toy area for this room

Talk to hubby about bookshelves (90% of the books are his, the books are piled upon books, reorganize or get rid of please???)

Purchase a pop-up hamper for youngest 2 children, I might purchase more of these pop-up hampers because I think it would be easier than laundry baskets that take up lots of room and urge me to leave clothes in them!

Purchase curtain rod (or something) to go across double glass doors, hanging clips, re-find full-size sheet to hang up as curtain (trim if necessary). I think this will work and look nice in this room (and be easy to move to allow access to door, also to allow light in). Plus it should be cheap! :)

Our church is having a sale day so hopefully some of this stuff will make it into that!

I'm a little late starting (the challenge started Nov. 1) but hopefully I'll finish well (Nov. 30). Now, before I chicken out - BEFORE pictures:

Book Review #2 These Strange Ashes

2007-10-31T23:02:00.000-04:00

These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge? by Elisabeth Elliot. I very much enjoyed this telling of Elisabeth's first year as a missionary. The beginning tells a little of the start of her relationship with Jim Elliot (who she eventually marries) so it was intriguing to hear how their relationship evolved. I think this would also be a good book for single women who are thinking about being missionaries alone. Though the world is a different place in 2007, I know there are possibilities for single women to serve! There were lots of words and phrases in the book that I didn't understand (I COULD have gotten out the dictionary if I was so inclined, but I wasn't) so that would be my one criticism. If you enjoy adventure, travel, and hearing about other locations/cultures then you will love this book. Elisabeth describes things in a way that makes you feel like you are right there too. I'll definitely be looking into more of Elisabeth Elliot's books. She also quotes Amy Carmichael (I've seen her quoted around the blogosphere) and now I think I need to read her writings too! (Second finished book for Fall Into Reading 2007)

Vision Forum giveaway Take 2!!

2007-10-30T23:59:00.000-04:00

The new Vision Forum catalog has arrived. Life In A Shoe has sponsored another giveaway, this time for $250 worth of products, you just need to link and give your wishlist (ends Fri Nov 2).
Here's mine:
p.6 Passionate Housewives
p. 10 To Have and to Hold
p. 20 The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship
p. 21 A Church in the House
Family Man, Family Leader
p. 25 Raising Maidens of Virtue
p. 33 Beloved Bride: The Letters of Stonewall Jackson to His Wife
p. 40 The Adventure of Missionary Heroism
p. 73 Mother and Daughter Aprons - Child-Size 2, Adult-Size 1
Ladylike Nightgowns for Ladylike Girls size S 2
Child's Wooden Baking Set
p. 79 Elsie Dinsmore #1
p. 109 Destination: Moon
Total $247
(Or take my previous list, remove some things and add the whole Elsie Dinsmore book collection!)

WFMW - milk in fridge

2007-10-30T23:51:00.000-04:00

How come you can think of 10 good ideas when you're not at the computer but when you're sitting down at the computer you have trouble thinking of 1??? Anyway, at the grocery store I always get my milk gallon in a bag. Then at home, I keep the milk in that bag. Then when the gallon is empty, I put it in our recycling area in the same bag. I usually add to the bag other recyclables but it's all together. This keeps possible milk leakage from other groceries, my vehicle, my fridge, and the floor (in the recyclables area). As I pour into the sippy cups, I invariably get some milk rolling down the side of the gallon so the bag helps to keep it contained. This is not rocket science, but it Works for me!! See Shannon for more (and better) tips. :)

Oh, since my husband just added me to his Google reader I have to give a shout out, "Hi honey!".

Real Simple everyday organizational items

2007-10-26T11:14:00.000-04:00

I know some women love Real Simple magazine, products, online, etc. I have one product - a mail organizer that sits next to the computer monitor (YES, a desktop version, I don't have the luxury (tongue-in-cheek) of using a laptop yet!) and helps me to keep track of bills (or collecting junk and papers, okay all of the above). I saw this link from www.cnn.com yesterday (well, I think that's where I saw it) for the article Get Organized Using Everyday Household Items. Some of the ideas were very creative and useful. However, remember if you have little children medicines need to be in a childproof container!

Vision Forum drawing

2007-10-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

The new Vision Forum catalog has arrived. Life In A Shoe has sponsored a giveaway for $150 worth of products, you just need to link and give your wishlist.
Here's mine:
p.6 Passionate Housewives
p. 10 To Have and to Hold
p. 20 The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship
p. 21 A Church in the House
p. 25 Raising Maidens of Virtue
p. 40 The Adventure of Missionary Heroism
p. 73 Mother and Daughter Aprons - Child-Size 1, Adult-Size 1
p. 109 Destination: Moon
Total $144, if I could go over $150 I would definitely get one more child-size apron (my husband would pick a few other things)!

We also love Elsie Dinsmore, so far we've just gotten the CDs but will probably buy the books when our oldest is able to read them. I'll have to write a blog post about Vision Forum later.

Cookbook giveaway

2007-10-24T14:55:00.000-04:00

I'm an Organizing Junkie mentioned the Taste of Home cookbook and magazine subscription giveaway at Molly-Coddled so I thought I would mention it too!! :)

Find all the details here.

Book Review #1 The Camel Club

2007-10-24T00:11:00.000-04:00

The Camel Club by David Baldacci

It took me a while to get into this book, it didn't take off right away (for me) and I was bogged down by the politicalness and number of characters. I think if I was reading in complete peace and quiet with no interruptions (ha ha) then it would have been easier to keep the characters straight (or a list like some books have)! I did enjoy the story and look forward to reading the next Camel Club book The Collectors. But overall, not my favorite David Baldacci book.

(First finished book, Fall Into Reading 2007, but making progress on others!)

WFMW - bottles

2007-10-24T00:02:00.000-04:00

As a follow-up to another WFMW (see the P.S. part here), I thought I'd let you know What Works For Me! Playtex drop-ins with the latex nipple. A friend gave us one and I think the baby finally got hungry enough to drink from this bottle. My husband thinks it may be because the nipple was different than the others we tried and the nipple felt more like breastfeeding. I don't know, but we were very happy campers!!! :)

Click over now!

2007-10-10T16:35:00.000-04:00

Deena (A Peek At My Bookshelf) has great reviews and giveaways!!! Check out her site, especially her Payday Giveaways!

Works for Me Wednesday - bbq pizza

2007-10-10T01:52:00.000-04:00

Jes at Beauty from Chaos asked how I make bbq chicken pizza.

Well, mine isn't a recipe exactly. A friend showed me how they made it at a restaurant (don't ask me details, it's been a while). Anyway, this is about how I replicate it at home.

Take one frozen Tyson chicken breast, defrost in microwave until just getting white at edges so it is thawed enough to cut into strips (think shredded bbq chicken). (Use the defrost chicken setting or use fresh chicken breast or let it thaw in your fridge, whatever works for you! Don't let the frozen chicken sit out at room temp and then blame me for getting salmonella.) You can also cut the chicken into square pieces, it depends on how you want it on your pizza. Put a little olive oil (or whatever oil you have) in frying pan, coat the chicken in oil and fry it briskly (does that make sense?). Add seasonings as you cook, I use Season-All and a little salt and pepper. Once chicken is done (or just about done, it seems like it cooks a little in the oven, but again don't blame me if it's not fully cooked and you get salmonella!), either top pizza or set aside until pizza is ready.

You need one small red onion. I cut off the ends and edges (I have no idea what I'm doing with most veggies), then try to cut thin slices so I get nice "rings" of red onion. I end up using very little of the red onion but you might have different tastes and use more, I think you could also freeze the extra onion or save for something else or make pizza more than once in a week, whatever you choose.

Prepare pizza crust, I like to bake mine (about half the cooking time) before putting on toppings. Then spread with your favorite bbq sauce (mine is K.C. Masterpiece) like you would pizza sauce. Put on chicken, as much or as little as you want. I like lots of chicken on mine, but it kinda depends on how big the chicken breast was that I cooked earlier. Then spread the red onion rings around on the pizza. Then top with cheese, a mix of cheddar and mozzarella is good or a 4-blend Mexican, but sometimes I'll use just mozzarella because that's all we have (and I prefer white mild cheeses). Bake in oven. Enjoy!

You can also spread some cheese under the toppings. I love to do this with pepperoni or other toppings because it seems to help the meat from sliding around or all coming off your pizza when you take a bite (that's what I read somewhere a long time ago) .

Anyway, hope this "recipe" makes sense, let me know if you want a picture tutorial and I'll try that sometime! This is what works for me. :)

Here's another option:
Amy at The Mother Load uses her shredded bbq chicken for bbq chicken pizza. I LOVE her shredded bbq chicken recipe (we had it earlier this week!), but I'm not sure I would like it on pizza - it may be just the way I shred my chicken though - I do tweak her recipe a little.
http://www.momadvice.com/food/slow_cooker_recipes4.aspx go down to Day #23. Here's another post about the pizza (has good comments) http://www.momadvice.com/aldi/index.php/main-dishes/chicken-bbq-pizza/.

Frugal Friday - first post, talking about Kroger

2007-10-05T01:02:00.000-04:00

Hello! This is my first Frugal Friday post though I've been reading for a while. Crystal keeps mentioning Kroger deals so I thought I would talk about how I save at Kroger (your local store may be Dillon's, Gerbes, Fry's, etc.).

1) Sign up for the card. Using the Kroger Plus shopper's card allows you to receive the weekly discounts, trigger Catalina coupons (coupons that print out at the register to be used on a future shopping trip), and allows Kroger to mail you coupons. Study your coupon, some are only for Kroger and some are manufacturer's coupons that you can cut the Kroger side out (perforation is before the Kroger sign) so it can be used at any store that accepts manufacturer coupons.

2) Study the ad. Figure out what are the loss leaders and what are not such a good deal, a price book helps with this.

3) Look for the saving signs!!! Often a product in the ad this week will also be on sale next week. Study the price sign (check for these in your area, this is how it works at my Kroger), there will be a sale start date and end date. The product may be in this week's ad but also will be on sale next week and maybe the week after. (I've seen where it has a sale price for the next 4 months then a week later it's gone and back to the original price so don't count on these always to be accurate, but it's usually good for a few weeks if that's the ending date.) These dates are especially good for "special deals" like Crystal talked about before with the cereal. The ad might list or picture 3 cereal boxes but when you look in the store you see that 15 different cereals work for the special deal, and you see that the special deal is also going on next week. This allows you time to accumulate more coupons or save and plan your grocery budget around these special deals.

3a) Look for unadvertised specials too. Our store seems to remove the sale signs early in the day on Saturday so make sure you know it's on sale (don't be fooled by a missing sign if they've taken it down early) but they also put up Sunday's sale tags on Saturday evening (I think they'll honor the price so you don't have to wait until Sunday). Obviously, here our ads run Sunday through Saturday, but I think it might work the same for Wednesday through Tuesday sales.

4) Smart source coupons. Have you noticed the flashing red button with coupons sticking out? These are Smart source coupons (at least here that's who sponsors them here) that can be used at any store, it's a manufacturer coupon. Look all over the store, last year I found coupons in the pharmacy area for Claritin-D. I stocked up on coupons and shared with others. The machine will usually have one ready, and when you take it, another will come out, sometimes it will stop putting another one out after 2 are taken. Keep standing there and the machine will put more out, or walk back by the aisle in a few minutes or every time you come into the store.

5) Buy one get one free specials. I love this about Kroger, you don't have to buy 2 - they mark one product down half price so you only have to buy 1. (At Meijer you have to buy 2 to get the buy one get one free deal.) Also you can use 2 coupons.

6) Check out the Kroger website. The ad is there with a printable shopping list. I like to start my shopping list by printing off the sales from Kroger. I'll turn the paper over and list sales from other stores I'm planning to shop at. (Yes this uses a little printer ink but saves me time.) Also, when shopping in the store you can make a note about products that will still be on sale next week. (I look at this and transfer to the next week's printed shopping list, or try to remember.)

7) Fuel rewards. We have gas pumps at most of the local Kroger stores. By spending $100 in groceries (total is usually BEFORE coupons), you receive 10 cents off per gallon of gas. If you have a Kroger credit card you receive 15 cents off (though I don't recommend credit cards!). For every $100 spent you accrue the 10 cents to use at each pump visit during the next month (you don't get 20 cents off by spending $200, instead you get 10 cents off twice). You have to use the Kroger plus shopping card to earn and use this savings. We make the most of this by taking both vehicles for a fill-up. However, I used to get caught up in this trying to spend to the $100 mark when thinking it through you're not saving that much: 25 gallons X 10 cents = $2.50 so try to keep that in mind. We've never run into a limit issue but they usually say 20 or 25 or 30 gallon limit. If your closest Kroger doesn't have gas pumps but another one does, this may be worth driving to another store. I've been told by an employee that Kroger fuel prices are set by competition in that area so usually every store has a different price for gas and one side of town may be cheaper than another.

8) Markdowns. Crystal has shown several marked-down items she has bought recently. You have to keep your eyes open! Shopping at certain times of the day helps, ask when markdowns are most likely to be made.

9) Making the most of coupons. I sign-up for coupons a lot and ask manufacturers for coupons so I seem to get the occasional free item coupon. I save these for Kroger to work towards the fuel rewards.

I used to be an avid Wal-Mart shopper because the prices are generally lower or you can ad match anyway, but now with Catalina coupons and other rewards I've found that it does pay to shop at Kroger, Meijer, etc. But you have to be careful to make sure it's a good deal!! :) Please leave a comment with any other tips or good deals you've found this week. Thanks!

Update - For those with Meijer nearby, it is Frozen Food sale this month. There are coupons in the ad this week so stock up because there will be sales all month but the coupons are only in the ad this week!! (It appears that the coupons are also available online this time but I would rather have their ad coupons because I've had trouble with our store accepting "printable" coupons before.) Read the "rules" on the coupon - only one coupon for that item can be used per visit but you can always make multiple visits and stock up. You can also combine manufacturer coupon with this store coupon (it's worked for me before, I assume it would work this time).

WFMW - Backwards Day!

2007-10-03T00:17:00.000-04:00

Help me! I hate to clean our stovetop. It's a gas stove (white no less!) with no pan drip thingies. I'm used to electric stoves where you can cover the pan drip thingies with tin foil (ok, aluminum foil) and then change that out once in a while. Anyway, back to the gas stove. I've contacted the company about using pan drip thingies and they say if it didn't come with it, you're not supposed to use them. Ugh. (I would post a picture of my stove, but I don't think I can get it to work, maybe later.) Does anyone have any great ideas? Anyone buck the system and put pan drip thingies down anyway??? I don't want to burn down my house. I've used magic erasers and it works pretty well but not completely. Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom, or cleaning stories, or what works for you, or hello, whatever you want to leave in the comments! :)

P.S. Any hints on getting a babyfeeder baby to take a bottle???

Try to win a toolset!

2007-09-29T22:50:00.001-04:00

Who wouldn't want a pink toolset? How about blue?

Multi-tasking Moms and Ladies Tools Online is giving one toolset away, pick pink or blue.

Chick-fil-A

2007-09-29T22:45:00.000-04:00

I ate at Chick-fil-A today, stopping in while running many errands (ok, shopping!). It was very good, as always. The cup says to go to the website www.40winners.com but going there just now said it wouldn't be ready until October 9th. Mark your calendars!! :)

Fall Into Reading 2007

2007-09-25T22:43:00.000-04:00

I love reading. Mostly fiction. Mostly mystery or suspense or crime or thriller. Something that moves fast and keeps me interested or surprises me at the end.

Being busy with 4 kids, homeschooling, housecleaning (ha!), etc. I don't get to read as much as I'd like so I love this challenge put on by Katrina at Callapidder Days.

Without further ado - the list:

Christy by Catherine Marshall. My husband gave me the DVD set of the TV series with Kellie Martin for my birthday and I want to try reading the book again (I started several years ago but could NOT get through it, I understand now that once you get through about the first four chapters it's much better!).
When Sinners Say I Do by Dave Harvey. Reading with my husband (already through chapter 3 so plan is to finish this).
The God I Love ~ A Lifetime of Walking With Jesus by Joni Eareckson Tada. You know to add to the non-fiction list is a biography. I've always been fascinated by Joni. I hate to admit but I truly wonder what would I do if this had happened to me - I'm not sure how I would've gone on but it is wonderful what God has/is doing in her life!!
Bleachers by John Grisham. Catching up on some fiction from a favorite author. I do like Law & Order though I haven't seen the show in a long long time.
The Camel Club by David Baldacci. Another favorite author though some of his books are more explicit than others (that's a warning).
These Strange Ashes: Is God Still in Charge? by Elisabeth Elliot. Loaned to me by a friend, I've never read any books by Elisabeth.
Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper and John Piper. Heard her speak on this topic and I would like to improve more in this area. We might buy her Advent calendar thing this Christmas.
Ten Things I Wish Jesus Never Said by Victor Kuligin. My husband wants me to, enough said.

I'll probably add more fiction if I have time!! :)

Look for upcoming reviews as books are finished. TTFN.