Another giveaway

This week's giveaway at My Wooden Spoon is a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. Head on over there and enter to win.

She will be having weekly giveaways through the next three months, so get in on the action!

Giveaway Goodness!

My Wooden Spoon is hosting a 3 month long giveaway! She is giving away a prize each week through July 31. This first week's prize is this Cuisinart food processor.

Head on over and enter! You just never know...and you have a much better chance at winning this than you do at winning the lottery :)

Free Dunkin Donuts Coffee

This is for the original flavor, but I must comment that the Cinnamon Spice flavor--wowza, it is definitely our favorite. Tastes like a cinnamon roll wrapped up in a cup of coffee.

Answer to the Hot Dog Dilemma

So yesterday was the hot dog feast at my in-laws. I really struggled about what to take, but here is what I found at my local grocery store. Grass fed beef hot dogs! They were fantastic. At almost $6.00 a package, they are not something I would purchase regularly, but when faced with the problem of going to a hot dog cookout, these were a wonderful option. Applegate Farms Organic Uncured Hot Dogs. The kids liked them so much that Grace wanted to take one in her lunch today.

Just wanted to post a follow up on my solution to the problem. I just ate it on a bun (and we brought our own organic ketchup, which was an overwhelming big hit with everyone) and avoided the chili. I did add some of my mother-in-law's excellent homemade pickle relish.

Motherhood Photos

5 Minutes for Mom and Eggbeaters are sponsoring a Motherhood Photo contest. This is the photo I chose to enter because it shows my beautiful little girl doing what she loves--cuddling a baby. I have difficulty keeping her away from any baby--this one is her cousin Alyssa. The other reason I love this picture is the expression on her face looking down. I know that some day in the future Grace will be a superb mommy to her own children.

Congratulations to the winners!

Congratulations to Rebecca for winning Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage

Congratulations to Sarah M. for winning the ROAR Narnia book.

This has been so much fun, join us again in the summer for the next round of Bloggy Giveaways!

But you can definitely join me here sooner, I will have many books to give away over the next few months.

Thought Provoking Post

I read this post today. It really made me think and I wholeheartedly agree. Here are a couple of excerpts:

Two more things our children should allegedly, as Christians, be able to stand firm on...
"The myth of global warming", it said, and
"The recognition that violence would increase substantially if all guns were removed from homes"

What happens when we see and do things like this, when we take issues that have no clear biblical precedent and turn them into make-or-break Christian ideals? A few things. First of all, we create a massive amount of separation within the body.

Go read the post. You will be glad you did.

Giveaway #2--Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage

So, since I am having so much fun with the Bloggy Giveaways Carnival I thought I'd offer a second giveaway. Make sure you go to that link in case you haven't checked it out--there are over 700 giveaways this week so far!

I am giving away a copy of the brand new book, Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage by Mark Gungor.

You can see my review of the book here:

Laugh Your Way...review at Bookloons

An excerpt:

We live in a dreamland where happily ever after seems to be the goal of marriage. But in reality, marriage is not a fairytale come true - it involves a great deal of work and understanding about the physics of marriage. In this new book, based on his popular marriage seminars, Mark Gungor addresses marriage in an extremely straightforward, yet entertaining manner that will cause readers to think.

After thirty years of speaking on this subject, Gungor knows that one of the main problems is that we don't understand what true love really means. 'People think that if a marriage is meant to be, it will just be. But marriage is like an ox. It's a great, productive thing. But if you are going to have an ox, then you're going to have ox poo. There's no such thing as a poo-free marriage. The problem is, many don't expect to find any poo at all in their marriage, and when they encounter stuff that stinks, they see it as a sign that they married the wrong person.'

How to Enter:

1. Leave me a comment below with a tip for how to have a great marriage.

2. Be sure to leave an e-mail address or way for me to contact you.

3. I will draw a name on Sunday, April 27

Don't forget to enter my other giveaway! ROAR!

Giveaway! Roar: Christian Family Guide to the Chronicles of Narnia

This is a gorgeous book, written by Heather and David Kopp, entitled ROAR! A Christian Family Guide to the Chronicles of Narnia.

Do you have a Narniac in your family? Would you like to make your family reading of the Chronicles of Narnia more meaningful and understandable? Then ROAR is the perfect book for you. Over 440 pages long, the book goes chapter by chapter through each of the seven books. The section includes a short chapter summary, definitions of words and phrases that might need clarification, "grown-up thoughts" (insights that are most meaningful to adults), a Scripture verse, many questions for discussion, and other fun things such as "kid tests", activities, and things to look up in the Bible.

Topping it all off are some very interesting essays, a final quiz, and a comprehensive glossary.

Sorry, due to the weight of this book I am only able to ship within the US or Canada

If you would like to win, please leave me a comment, and make sure there is a way I can get in touch with you if you win.

I will draw by random post number on Saturday, April 26, so be sure to enter by Saturday morning!

Be sure to check out Bloggy Giveaways for more fabulous prizes during the blog carnival going on this week.

The Year of Magical Thinking

Ok...so maybe I'm just a loser when it comes to books, but what was so special about this one? I found it incredibly tedious to make it through, and it's actually a very short book.

I should have been able to relate to it a little bit. Joan Didion loses her husband suddenly to a heart attack, and the book chronicles her year of movig through the grief.

But really, it just goes on and on, repeating itself on occasion, and just just didn't do it for me.

I'm glad to have knocked it off the tbr shelves, but other than that, bleh.

Small Rant

My mother in law just called saying that, since they were sick on Easter and had to cancel their Easter get-together, she's rescheduling for the end of the month. We are having chili dogs, and she wants everyone to bring a pack of hot dogs and a pack of buns, she has the chili (which to me means it will be canned)

Can I just say yuck and get that out of the way?

She KNOWS we have been trying to eat more healthy and less processed food. Other than the fact that I can probably find some decent buns, there won't be anything there I can eat, and nothing there that I think my family should eat. I have a major "ick" when it comes to hamburger of any sort.

Why would she choose this as the entree?


Ok, I'm done.

I'll just eat before I go...and I'll probably bring along a veggie tray.

New Review/Holding Off

I'm going to hold off on the giveaway, because Bloggy Giveaways is hosting a giveaway carnival beginning on Monday, I will start it then.

I had a new review posted this week--this is funny because I actually read and wrote this review many months ago based on an advance reader copy I received. The book didn't end up being published under that publisher, and was only recently published via a new publisher. So here's the long awaited review!

Death, Deceit, and Some Smooth Jazz

Round Up of Interesting Reads--Green Edition

Here's a Roundup of some interesting things I have read lately:

Farmer Fast Food from Eat.Drink.Better What are farmers up to at this time of year? Some tips and a recipe for a delicious-sounding Chicken Tamale Pie.

For those of you in Washington state, here's a guide to Washington Farmer's Markets

A short video about CSA farms, it focuses on King County (WA--Seattle area) but the info is applicable to everywhere, if you're interested in the CSA concept CSA Video

Take a test to see your Green I.Q.

Five Green Changes --Some of these are no brainers...but are you doing them?

Very well thought out article from The Garden of Eating about water bottles Greening your Kitchen and as a side note...

After taking a huge hit in the media lately about BPA, Nalgene has announced it now has a BPA free line of bottles. Hmmm, this has obviously been in the works for quite some time, you think? Z-Recommends has the full story here:
Nalgene bottles

That's it for now...stay tuned for a wonderful new giveaway tomorrow--just in time for the new Prince Caspian movie!

We Have a Winner!

Thanks to www.Random.org, we have a winner for A Steal of a Deal!

Jo--ladijo@....

Congratulations, your book will be in the mail this week after I get your address.

What is Considered a Junk Food in School?

As the school year is dragging on, I am getting quite tired of making lunches for my kids every day. I am fortunate that they are not picky, and will pretty much eat anything I give them, but creativity is waning at this late date. They rarely choose to eat hot lunch, because they like the "home" lunch better, but I am leaning even more heavily toward not allowing hot lunch, especially after seeing this:

Junk Food Quiz

And also looking at this website:

Two Angry Moms

The angry moms' site has a fantastic resource page with tons of links to healthy recipes and ideas for lunches, as well as a little push to show what moms (and dads) can do to improve the nutritional quality of school lunches.

It's a Puzzle

Ok, I have kind of a puzzling question. Maybe it's just me...

I will fully admit that we are pretty strictly following a budget, I attempt to be as frugal as possible in everything that we do. That's not to say that we don't occasionally splurge, but as a whole, we try to make the most frugal choices we can. So maybe that makes us SO unusual that I am totally out of touch with the way "normal" people's minds work.

Within the last year, I have known three separate people whose washing machines or dryers have quit working for one reason or another. And every single one of them has dealt with this in a way that surprised me.

Person A: Washer broke. Had repair person out, the repair person couldn't figure out what to do, their fix worked temporarily, but the washer needed to be replaced. What did Person A do? They bought both a brand new washer AND a brand new dryer. Why? Because they wanted a matched set. Hmmm, I thought at the time, that's a waste of money, but maybe this person is just strange.

Person B. Washer broke a few different times, was able to be repaired twice, but on the third time, they just gave up. What did person B do? Bought both a brand new washer and a brand new dryer. Why? Because they wanted a matched set. I started on my line of being very confused. I asked Person B about this again, expressing my puzzlement at the logic--especially since their laundry room is in the basement and no one sees them but the person doing the laundry. Seems like a strange waste of $300. So she says, "The washer and dryer were the same age, so I am sure the dryer would have quit soon too."

Person C: This just happened a couple of weeks ago, so I am still scratching my head about this one. Person C casually mentions to me while at our daughters' shared activity that her washing machine was making an odd noise. She said that she had been researching new washers and dryers so she could replace the one making an "odd noise." I casually asked, "how old is the washer?" Thinking I would get an answer of "Really old." She says, "Oh, it's maybe a year old." Now, I know these people are not rolling in the dough, I know that money is tight for them. I said, "Um, it's probably under warranty. Did you call the manufacturer?" Nope. "I guess I should do that, huh?" spoken in an entirely guileless and non-sarcastic way--honestly, I think she just didn't even think of it.

So, am I just the clueless one? What is the deal with getting a new dryer when your washer breaks? Since hubby and I have been married, we have had to replace our washer once and our dryer once. But not at the same time. In fact, when we bought our washer, the salesperson (who was probably on commission) told us not to bother getting a new dryer if ours was working fine, because we could save a lot of money that way.

Things that puzzle me...oh well!

Free Toilet Scrubber

I've honestly never tried this myself, but here's a coupon for a free Scotch-Brite Disposable Toilet Scrubber With Bleach Starter Kit.

If this isn't something you would use, maybe you could come up with a great place to donate it?

Print coupon

Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, food prices and Washington's New Farm to Table Program

Here's a great article about food prices. Although Michael Pollan and Alice Waters are right on with their views on sustainable foods and why we should be eating more fresh, local foods, they are also living in a slight "dream world" bubble when it comes to understanding how the majority of people eat.

Washington state also just passed a fabulous bill that will help children have more access to locally grown produce through the school lunch program. The article talks about that bill and its impact.

Grist Article

Book Giveaway!

I am giving away a copy of this wonderful book, just released in April from Revell.

From the back cover:

It Was Supposed to Be a Simple Trip . . . When gemologist Andie Adams gets a chance to go to the Kashmir region of Pakistan for a mission trip, she jumps at the opportunity to spearhead the efforts. But her boss at the S.T.U.D. home shopping network wants to turn the trip into another on-location shoot for the station. And that means Andie's hunky but irritating cohost Max is part of the deal--can't a girl get a break? When a mysterious death lands Andie and Co. in hot water, it's only the beginning of their problems. Between Pakistani prisons, suspicious gurus, and tension in the S.T.U.D. family, this trip is turning into a disaster. Will all of Andie's worst fears about Max be realized? Does she really want the know-nothing pretty boy out of her life? Or is it already out of her hands?

Just leave me a comment and you'll be entered into the drawing for the book. I'll take names until Sunday, April 13.

Frugal Tips

Frugal Tips to Survive a Recession Excellent blog compilation of tips for how to save money.

Earthbound Farms Free Reusable Bag

Click here to take Earthbound Farms' environmental quiz to get a free reusable grocery bag in celebration of Earth Day.

Earthbound Farms

I learned some rather interesting things, I always like when I learn something and then get something free in return.

Newest DVD Reviews/Spring Break Update

A couple of DVD reviews posted this week.

Five Days Click to read my full review, but this was an excellent mystery HBO/BBC mini-series. Highly recommended.

Johnny and the Sprites: Meet the Sprites Cute Disney series for young kids


We just got back from a much needed couple of days away. It's spring break, so we at least needed to do something since our trip to the beach fell through. That's probably a good thing due to the $$ issues--we're still plugging away at our debt!

On Wednesday we spent the first part of the day at the Portland Children's Museum, which although it was slightly fun for our kids, we realized that they are too old for, unfortunately. I think this museum is best enjoyed by those kindergarten and below. I don't know if it's because my kids are older and I don't mingle as much with parents of younger kids, but people are SO rude! I can't count the number of times that parents just watched their kids shove in front of my kids to try to take things away, or the parents themselves did it!

Logan was in the water room, building a series of pipes to try to make a water spout turn into a fountain. He had been diligently working at it when a younger child comes up to the water spout and directs it away from what Logan was doing. Just as Logan was getting ready to say something to the child, the child's parent walks up and takes the pipes out of Logan's hand to "help" him get it fixed up. It was irritating. Next time we'll go to OMSI .

The second half of the day was better, because we went to the Zoo . The weather turned decently nice, and it was fun to go through the zoo again. We have really enjoyed our membership there this year. I think our favorite activity so far has been the HOWL-oween celebration where the kids got treats all around the zoo. Grace's Brownie troop went on a Zoo Snooze last year and it was a total blast too, I definitely want to try to set one up for this year again.

We then spent Wednesday night and all day Thursday in Salem. It was nice to spend time with my parents, and again, just good to get away.

My March Reads

28. The Shack by William Young A-

29. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert C-

30. Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage by Mark Gungor B

31. Carpool Confidential by Jessica Benson C-

32. The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center B-

33. The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz B+

34. The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan A

35. The Black Cloister by Melanie Dobson C+

36. Oh, Baby! By Judy Baer C+

37. Daring Chloe by Laura Jensen Walker B-

38. Suspicious Minds by Christy Barritt B

39. A Mile in my Flip-Flops by Melody Carlson B-

40. Wiser than Serpents by Susan May Warren C+

41. Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah C

42. Seven White Roses by Shirley Kinsey (not rated)

43. Now You See Her by Jacquelyn Mitchard B

44. Service Included by Phoebe Damrosch B

45. Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill B-

46. Deserts of the Heart by Pamela Reeve A

Audio books

3. The Breakdown Lane by Jacquelyn Mitchard C+
4. Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson B+

Diamond Settlement Reminder

I mentioned this once before, but if you bought any diamond jewelry between January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2006, you are probably eligible to receive part of a class action settlement against DeBeers.

Go here Diamond Class Action for all of the relevant information. You do not have to submit a copy of your receipt if your purchase was under $10,000. I just submitted my claims online and it took less than five minutes to do. If you do have your receipt or appraisal it is much easier, since you do need to know your purchase price. Fortunately for me, we bought the rings during a much more organized part of my life, so I had a file folder neatly labeled "Rings" that had copies of receipts and appraisals. Oh, how I wish I were this organized these days.

It appears that you could get back a significant amount of money, the deadline is May 19, so get it submitted now!

Organic Earth Day

I forgot to mention Organic Earth Day . For one main reason--starting April 1 (which is Tuesday for you calendar challenged people--as a side note I had many people at church today asking if I had postponed April's book club meeting due to spring break. Um, no, tomorrow is still March people!) anyway, starting April 1 you can go to the store(s) listed in your area and pick up an organic coupon book. We all know how pricey organic items can be, so the coupons are always welcomed and not always easy to come by.

So type in your zip code on the home page and find out where you can pick up your coupons for organic items. You can also check out the great recipe page and see some of their sponsors.

Farmer's Market

Our local farmer's market is less than a week away! I am so excited, it's almost silly.

This winter has seemed to last forever...no thanks to the snow we got yesterday. It's spring now, enough with the winter weather. Rain, I can take...that's typical Washington spring. But snow is a different story.

Cowlitz Farmer's Market Here's a link to our market. I do know that we will be buying eggs and chickens there regularly this year, as well as another half of a pig and veggies from our CSA. I dont' think our CSA shares technically begin until May as I've paid for the summer season, but if she has veggies I'll just buy some from her. Like I said, it's been a long winter, and we're getting a little weary of eating from the freezer.

This year I do plan to do some canning. Up until this point, all of my preserving has been freezing--fruit, corn, jam. But after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle I am excited to can tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce and tomatoes, as I use a ton of both of those things year round. Our tomato season is pretty late compared to the rest of the country, and let me tell you, the kids are more than ready for some fresh tomatoes but I keep saying, "wait, wait." After being spoiled with the garden tomatoes last year, there's no way we could eat the tasteless winter ones from the grocery store.

This is the type of bread I have been making the most often lately. Looks a lot like the pesto bread doesn't it? It's from my same old sourdough starter, and after the first rise, I roll it out, spread with butter, sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar. It tastes like a cinnamon roll and it's really delicious. We can go through a whole loaf pretty quickly.

Bean soup

I always love it when we get a ham for the holidays, because that means we get bean soup! Because of the weather we have today (this is from last night) I set some white beans to soak last night and now they are bubbling away on the stove with the ham bone. It is so simple, yet so delicious.

Interesting new things

Here's what I've been looking at lately:

Ideal Bite Green tips sent to you daily

Green Mom Finds Fun items and tips to become more of a green mom, they also have some great giveaways to sign up for

Blissfully Domestic Divas Quite a few moms with some fabulous tips and tricks

Mom-a-licious Chef Dominica Catelli has written a wondeful book full of healthy recipes that will encourage your family to eat better. I don't have the book yet, but the site does have some recipes that look fantastic.

To Love, Honor and Vacuum Author Sheila Wray Gregoire's blog, totally funny and most of us can relate to it!

Money Saving Mom Hosts Super Savings Saturdays, and her other blog, Biblical Womanhood hosts Frugal Fridays. I get tons of great tips there!

A Year Off Adventures of a family taking a year off from shopping

The Coolest Bookshelves Ever!

I want these so badly! In my dreams maybe...

The Amazing Staircase

20 Rules and Tools

Here is a great link from Families Northwest featuring chapters from Steve Stephens' book 20 Surprisingly Simple Rules and Tools for a Great Marriage.

Families Northwest

There are some excellent tips here, Finding Time for Fun, Go to Bed at the Same Time, Date ideas, Fight Fair, among many others. It is a wonderful article to check out.


I have been struggling a lot lately. Thanks to those of you who commented or e-mailed me to tell me you were praying. I really appreciate it, more than you know!

Spring break is next week here. Hubby has taken the whole week off, which is good in some ways. We are going to do some fun things, but hopefully we will have a few days of down time, which I really need.

An excellent movie

Here is a link to my review for

Dan in Real Life

What an absolute gem of a movie. I can't believe I missed it at the theater.
I highly recommend it!

I would really appreciate prayers from anyone reading this. I'm really struggling with something right now and I am feeling pretty defeated about it.
Thanks.

Fireproof

New movie coming out by the makers of Facing the Giants. Make sure you pause the music on the right first or you'll have a difficult time hearing it.

Life Lately

Women's retreat went fairly well, but it was very high stress for me. I was supposed to have a co-director, but her life fell apart midyear and I ended up doing the great majority of it by myself. And you know how two or three complaints can just drown out 50 compliments? That is what happened to me. Besides feeling completely exhausted due to all of the work I put into the retreat, as well as that dumb time change, the couple of rudely worded complaints I got just made me cry. It's not like I get paid for doing this! I wish that people could see what type of work goes into putting on this massive event and think a bit before offering up their opinion.

Enough of that. I have a new DVD review posted:
Margot at the Wedding

Have had both kids sick this week (although not at the same time fortunately) and Grace is home from school today. I am getting a lot done around the house, so I guess it's a good things for me to have to slow down and stay home every once in awhile.

The Shack

I just read an incredible book. I can't even begin to describe it. Here's the plot synopsis:

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

Let me just say that this book really challenged my faith and stretched it in ways that I didn't know I needed to stretch. The picture that this novel gives of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit both comforted me and made me think, grow, and pray like never before.

I highly recommend this book! I am going to have my husband read it asap so we can talk about it.

Movies Watched So Far in 2008

I decided to keep a journal of the movies we have watched with ratings this year too. I am using a 1-5 scale with the movies, I don't know why not letter grades, but it works for me. This is updated as of today, I will update on occasion, probably not monthly. Yes, we watch a lot of movies.

1. Lost Season 3 5
2. The Sopranos Season 6 Part 1 5
3. The Santa Clause 3 3
4. The Bourne Ultimatum 3 1/2
5. You Kill Me 4
6. 3:10 To Yuma (new version) 3 1/2
7. The Reluctant Astronaut 4
8. 27 Dresses 3
9. The Real Dirt on Farmer John 3 1/2
10. Superbad 2 1/2
11. Cloverfield 3
12. Live Free or Die Hard 3
13. Jindabyne 2
14. Snow Buddies 2 1/2-3
15. License to Wed 3
16. Road to Redemption 3
17. Arctic Tale 3
18. Stardust 4
19. The Spiderwick Chronicles 3
20. Escape to Witch Mountain 4 Return from Witch Mountain 2
21. Across the Universe 4 1/2
22. The Last Legion 2
23. Feast of Love 2
24. King of California 3
25. Gone Baby Gone 4
26. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 3
27. Killer Diller 4
28. Blackbeard's Ghost 3 1/2
29. Michael Clayton 3 1/2
30. Waitress 3 1/2
31. Margot At the Wedding 2 1/2

Books Read So Far in 2008

I have been very lax about posting these!

January
1. Family Matters by Deborah Bedford C
2. Embrace Me by Lisa Samson B
3. Have You Found Her? by Janice Erlbaum B+
4. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn B-
5. The Worst Thing I've Done by Ursula Hegi C
6. Animal, Vegetable Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver A
7. A Time to Mend by Sally John and Gary Smalley B-
8. The Year of Living Biblically by AJ Jacobs C+
9. Amber Morn by Brandilyn Collins B
10. I Heart Bloomberg by Melody Carlson B
11Healing Promises by Amy Wallace B-
12. For Pete's Sake by Linda Windsor B-
13. Searching for Spice by Megan DiMaria B
14. The Grand Scheme by Kathy Herman B

Audio
1. The View from Mount Joy by Lorna Landvik B

February

15. Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich C+
16. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver C+
17. Practically Perfect in Every Way by Jennifer Neisslein C
18. Plenty by Alisa Smith and James MacKinnon B-
19. Bright Lights, Big Ass by Jen Lancaster B
20. These Is My Words by Nancy Turner B
21. Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn B-
22. She Always Wore Red by Angela Hunt B+
23. Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah C+
24. Lottery by Patricia Wood B-
25. The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society by Beth Pattillo B
26. Dawn's Light by Terri Blackstock B
27. Summer Snow by Nicole Baart B-

Audio
2. Dream When You're Feeling Blue by Elizabeth Berg B-

Have been absent

Sorry! I have been absent lately. I am in charge of our church women's retreat, which is this coming weekend. I've been more than a little stressed out with the tasks involved, but hopefully I have a handle on it. And to top that off, we've had car problems, birthdays, anniversaries, and just everything happening at once.

I have one new review posted:
Hanna Montana: One in a Million

I hope to post my latest month (or two?)'s reads and DVD watches in the coming days.

Newest Reviews

I haven't been reviewing much lately, I am just trying to keep up with the RT reviews mostly.
Snow Buddies DVD

A Time to Mend

Win a Subscription to a Great Magazine

I have yet to find a magazine for moms that really speaks to me. I'm past the potty training stages, I don't need another suggestion list for how to put on my make-up faster. Until now.

Hybrid Moms is a "reality magazine for moms." From their website--what is a hybrid mom?

Hybrid Mom (hy brid mom, n.): An adult female who has discarded outdated and unrealistic conceptions of motherhood. She is parent, wife, volunteer, and sometimes entrepreneur, all in one. Known for her strength, sense of humor, and flexibility, a hybrid mom is actually a fusion of roles that suit her own individuality.

If this sounds like it might be appealing to you, head over to MomViews and enter their contest to win a subscription to this great magazine.

Fantastic News!!!

Casey does not have cancer!

His growth turned out to be a histiocytoma, which is a benign growth.
We are all thrilled, this is really good news in a week where many things went wrong and were not great.

Thanks for everyone's prayers!

Depressing Day

In October, our dog Casey had surgery to fix a congenital hip problem. It was a really expensive surgery ($3000) but he's only four years old, we knew that the surgery would help him have a more normal life. Healing has been going great, no problems.

Over the past 2 weeks, he has developed this spot on his front leg. At first we thought it was just a sore, and he kept licking it and making it worse. It was about the size of a dime, red and irritated. When I took him to his final orthopedic vet appointment on the 9th, she said it looked like a hot spot and gave me prednisone and antibiotics to clear it up. It looked like it was working for about the first three days. Spot seemed to get smaller, got a scab over it, yay.

Then it started getting bigger, broke open and started bleeding...it just wasn't looking any better at all. So I took him to the vet here in town last Friday and she said it looks like a growth and he needed surgery.

Today, he had surgery to remove the growth. Vet called a little while ago and said that she wasn't sure without lab work, but it looked like a mast cell tumor to her.

My husband isn't as sentimental as I am. He says that if it's cancer, he doesn't want to treat it. We have already spent so much money on this dog (today's surgery and stuff cost around $700) that he just doesn't want to spend any more.

If you've read this far...please pray for our little guy. Pray that the lab results come back as benign and we can just go on with life. It truly seems like it is just one thing after another here.

This and That

Links from some of the blogs I read:

Baking Bites has some recipes for Girl Scout cookie copycats. I know that $4 a box is a little steep, but consider buying a box and then making her recipes when your cookies run out. By the way, all Girl Scout cookies are now Trans Fat Free. (Can you tell my daughter is a Girl Scout?)

TV Guide has daily updates and profiles on the Lost characters, to prep you for the season premiere next Thursday.

TV BigShot is a very silly pastime of mine. I have had a TV Network all year and I get to spend pretend money and make money when my shows do well in the ratings. My current rank is 747th out of 30,378 networks, so I'm not doing too horribly!

Freebies 4 Mom has excellent freebies, every day of the week.

I guess that's all for tonight, the family wants me to come cuddle!

So many things

Swimming around in my head, but no time to post. It has been a busy week and no end appears in sight.

Random thoughts:

I won't be watching the SAG awards. I refuse to pay homage to overpaid stars giving themselves pats on the back WITH the blessing of the WGA. If they can't write my TV shows (LOST) then I won't be watching their little love-fest.

Washington state governor race: Last night I had the opportunity to hear Dino Rossi, the Republican candidate for governor. I am very impressed by his platform and will definitely be putting the word out in various ways to make sure he actually gets to keep the governorship this time.

Girl Scout Cookies--It's cookie sale time. Part of why I'm so busy right now is because I'm ferrying Grace the cookie seller extraordinaire around from place to place so she can look cute and sell many boxes just for that reason.

Anyway, I am reading up a storm and trying to get all of my ducks in a row for women's retreat sign-ups, which start this Sunday. If I can keep all of the balls in the air that I have up right now, it will be a miracle (is this paragraph filled with enough cliches?)

This and That Links

An interesting post over at Gather Little by Little--Kiss Your Debt Goodbye Lots of good information and inspiration to get out of debt.

Extremely interesting class action suit for anyone who has purchased a diamond in the past 14 years at Punny --I hope this doesn't turn out to be a hoax! I checked it out at Snopes and I don't see anything, and it's posted all over the web at different consumer sites. So my best guess is that it's legit. Let me know if you find out anything different.

How to Treat your Valentine from Families Northwest . Really excellent advice here! I especially liked the lists at the bottom of the 10 things women find romantic and the 5 things men find romantic. The men's list is only 5 due to this disclaimer "This is the edited list for men of non-sexual entries. The actual number one submission for most romantic from the guys involved some kind of sexual encounter initiated by their wives. I should have known. Nearly every man also mentioned food in some way.)"

That's all for today!

In Defense of Food

My review of this book has posted. It's great to start the year off (actually, I ended the year with this book) with such a fascinating book. Its message is simple: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. Yet to achieve this seems beyond most people.

I had the most interesting conversation yesterday with some women while watching the Seahawks (sob) game. I am right in the middle of reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle which I can say without exaggerating is changing my life. We were already on the bandwagon with eating more local foods, more vegetables, but this book is solidifying and giving me reasons to do what we're doing.

Back to In Defense of Food --the main thing I came away with is the astounding history of food lobbying and legislation in the US, as well as the increasing dependence on soy and corn for things other than strictly soy or corn as food.

Read it--you'll be glad you did.

Wish Lists

I've been tagged by Jessie so here I go to answer the questions:

1. Write two wish lists of five items each--one material wish list, and one spiritual.
2. Tag 5 people to complete this as well, and comment in their blogs to let them know

Material Wish List

1. A house with property so that I can have a big garden and raise some chickens.
2. Someone to clean my house once a week--the icky jobs like mopping and deep cleaning the bathrooms
3. Any of the 500+ items on my Amazon Wish List
4. A 2008 Toyota Hilander Hybrid (a girl's gotta dream, right?)
5. A laptop of my very own

Spiritual Wish List
1. A bright and cheery spirit at 5:30 am that allows me to get up and complete my devotion and prayer time without falling asleep
2. A group of friends to meet with and pray weekly about our deeper needs
3. An attitude of prayer about everything throughout my day
4. Family devotion time
5.To finish what I start when it comes to devotional/study materials. I'm getting ready to start Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be...and I want to finish it!

Off to tag:
Flip Flop Mom
Daphne
Elaine
Tanya
Sarah

What is a CSA?

I have had a couple of comments asking about the CSA, so I thought I'd address that here. A CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. What you do is buy a share in a farm--you pay a certain subscription fee in advance, and then you reap the benefits with a bag/basket/whatever of food each week from the farmer.

Our farmer is known as Farmer Susie. She has a farm we first joined last May, and all last summer/fall we picked up our weekly bag of veggies at the Farmer's Market. We were introduced to the joys of so many different greens and different vegetables that we either hadn't tried, hadn't eaten in a long time, or would just never have thought to purchase and experiment with.

It's the best way for us to get local, organic (although not certified, but who really cares) vegetables. The tomatoes were heavenly, Farmer Susie makes delectable garlic basil salad dressing, and I discovered something new--garlic scapes!

I'm a true garlic scape lover, and this year I will make as much garlic scape pesto as I can before they are out of season. I still have a little bit hoarded in the freezer for February or March when I am dying for something summer-fresh.

It has been an incredible experience for us, and my children are being quite adventurous. My son will eat just about anything if I put goat cheese in or on it, and my daughter adores anything made with fresh tomatoes.

To find a CSA near you, check out http://www.localharvest.org/

Earning Things Through Surveys

I am a member of quite a few online survey sites, some where you earn points and the points translate to money, some where you earn money directly. Most of those send survey invitations and you answer one or two questions in order to see if you qualify to take a particular survey.

The one I have been a member of for the longest, where I get the best rewards, is Harris Poll. Even if you don't qualify to take the entire survey, you earn points each time you fill them out. You can earn between 10 points (for less than a minute) to 100 or more for complete surveys that take more time to answer. You then go to the points website and trade your points for different rewards--800 points gets you a $5 Starbucks card, etc.

I bought all of my teacher gifts with Harris Poll points this year. Each teacher got a $5 Starbucks card and they were very well received! Starbucks is one of the places (Unlike Olive Garden or Red Lobster) where $5 actually buys you something worthwhile.

I don't get any referral bonus for this, I just wanted to "share the wealth" as it were. Go sign up, you have nothing to lose.

http://www.harrispollonline.com/

You can see more money saving and making ideas here each Friday.

Purple Potatoes, Oh My!

A couple of weeks ago, Farmer Susie included some potatoes in our CSA share. I put them in a paper bag and put them in the pantry, and then, like usual, promptly forgot about them.

Today I cooked roast chicken for dinner, and wanted to have potatoes with them, because that's what my family likes. So I remembered the CSA potatoes and started to peel them to cook for mashed potatoes. And oh my--they were purple! I thought at first that maybe they might be beets...but no, they look like potatoes on the outside. So I looked them up online and they are Peruvian potatoes, an heirloom variety.

I cooked them up and they were quite delicious. Once my son got over the fact that the mashed potatoes looked like purple frosting, but didn't taste like it, he ate quite a bit, as did everyone else.

Adventures in Vegetables!

Free Coffee Creamer

Here's a link to sign up for free coffee creamer. You can only do it once, but it's a great freebie!

Coffee Mate



Now, if they would only sell peppermint mocha at other times of the year...why is peppermint considered only a holiday flavor?

DVD Review

My review of Reign Over Me has posted

Here's my first menu plan I've posted online. My goal was to plan my week's menus each Sunday so that I can have them ready for the week:

Monday: Uptown Down Home Chili (Rachael Ray 365) and cornbread

Tuesday: Parmesan Chicken

Wednesday: Beer Braised Pork Chops

Thursday: Roast Sticky Chicken

Friday: Homemade sausage pizza

Win a Mixer!

A Cowboy’s Wife is having a contest on her food blog! You can win a Hamilton Beach® Stand Mixer and she’ll ship anywhere so everyone is eligible!

The Prize:
The winner will receive a brand new Hamilton Beach 4.5-qt. Eclectrics Stand Mixer, Pineapple Yellow!!
About the mixer:
From Hamilton Beach’s “Eclectrics” line, this all-metal stand mixer comes with a host of accessories - a Flat Beater for cakes and cookies, a Dough Hook for bread and a Wire Whisk for whipped cream or pudding. The 4.5-qt. stainless steel bowl comes with a Pouring Shield that helps prevent splattering while in operation. The pouring shield has a built-in chute for adding ingredients. Powered by 400 watts, the stand mixer has a two-way mixing action to ensure all ingredients are incorporated into the mix. The quick-release, tilt-up head assists when removing the bowl. 9 x 14 x 14-in. When you’re ready for a kitchen re-do, don’t call in the carpenters! Instead, “counterscape” your kitchen with Hamilton Beach’s retro-designed, affordably priced electrics in happy, sun-saturated colors. Their “Eclectrics” line includes updates to those classic appliances from the 1950s. All of their “Eclectrics” are available in six colors: Apple Green, Moroccan Red, Pineapple Yellow, Intrigue Blue, Sugar White and Licorice Black.

Goal Progress

I made some goals for 2008 and thought I'd update on the progress I have made this week. Bits and pieces of what has been going on around here:

1. Use each week's CSA vegetables creatively before the next week's veggies arrive--We had last week off due to Christmas, so I did have an opportunity to use some things. This week I have made a chicken pot pie using a bag of the stir fry veggies. Today I am making pork roast in the crock pot with parsnips, onions, and carrots that were getting on the verge of being bad. I pick up a new batch of veggies today, and although I haven't used up every single thing from the last time, I made a bigger dent than usual.

2. Check into a good source for a turkey for next Thanksgiving--I know, it seems a bit early to be thinking about this, but I realized that if I don't contact a farmer before he buys his chicks this spring, I might be out of luck. I found someone in the state that comes highly recommended, but I want to see if I can find someone a little closer.

3. Cook one new recipe each week--Today's pork pot roast comes from this month's issue of Cook's Country magazine. I had debated giving up this magazine subscription in order to be more frugal, but I realize that I cook from it tons more than Taste of Home, so I gave that one up instead.

4. Rely less on ready-made items--I must say this is going to be tougher on the kids than on me. The kids love chips, cup of noodles, chicken nuggets, etc. in their lunches. I am going to have to be more creative with lunches, which is going to take a lot more effort and some ear plugs to deal with the whining. Right now, we're still using up things we have. But on this front, I did make a loaf of bread this week, and I plan to make another loaf tomorrow. I have made yogurt twice, and everyone is eating it as fast as I can make it!

5. Less waste--We have been turning off the computers at night, which is something we haven't done in the past. I am making the kids use the 5 minute timer in the shower, which should also really help. I am trying to use things up before buying new.

6. Plan and stick to a budget--I did this month's budget and paid the bills. Even was able to budget for wrestling shoes and the wrestling fee.

So, that's this week. I am currently working on my RT reviews for January, due on Monday. I have seven books finished and ready to review, and one book I'm about halfway finished with. The remainder of today needs to be working on writing, and then reading.

Lost Mania

Ok, I have never claimed that we aren't complete Lost fanatics, but it has reached a new fever pitch now that the fourth season is due to start on January 31.

We cracked open the 3rd season DVD set and have now been obsessively watching last season's episodes. We cannot seem to stop ourselves. We watched all day yesterday, and even after the kids went to bed and it was fairly late, LeeRoy said, "we can squeeze one more in today." Then right before I turned out the light last night he said, "there will be no Lost watching tomorrow while I am at work."

I cannot remember another time in my life when I was this into a television show. I am ready to go down to Hollywood and beg the Lost writers to go back to work. I think the fans would pool together and pay them what they're worth!

December Reads/Year-End Wrap Up

176. Learning to Fly by Roxanne Henke B-
177. The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn C+
178. The Note by Angela Hunt B-
179. Solomon vs. Lord by Paul Levine B
180. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan B+
181. The Wedding Machine by Beth Webb Hart B-
182. A Matter of Wife and Death by Cindy Scanell and Ginger Kolbaba C+
183. Leaving November by Deborah Raney B
184. The Perfect Life by Robin Lee Hatcher B-
185. When Zeffie Got a Clue by Peggy Darty B
186. Only Uni by Camy Tang B

Audio Books:
19. The Darkest Evening of the Year by Dean Koontz C+
20. Anne of Green Gables by LM Montbomery A


My favorite book of the year was definitely The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Other favorites were Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling, and The Healing Stones by Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn.

My least favorite of the year was Chasing Destiny by Eric Jerome Dickey (a book group read)

This year I started a book club at my church which is small but has a very dedicated group of attendees and readers, some of which I never see at any other events. I regularly participate in group reads from one online book group as well. I think that being able to choose my own books to review has made my reading enjoyment higher this year than in past years, because I am able to pretty much weed out anything I think I won't care for.

My goal for this coming year is to cut down on my RT review books so I have more time to read my tbr shelves and books from the library--more books for fun, fewer for review. I am heading toward burnout and I don't want to be at that point.

I would love to read 200 books in 2008...I was frustrated by my lack of reading time and commitment this year. But after everything that happened this year in general, my personal life was in an upheaval which really cut into my reading time. Summer definitely remains my most productive reading time, due to the lying-in the sun-watching-the-kids-swim factor.

Statistics:
January: 15 books, 3 audio books
February: 14 books 1 audio book
March: 16 books, 2 audio books
April 17 books, 2 audio books
May: 18 books 1 audio
June: 13 books 1 audio
July: 26 books, 1 audio
August: 13 books, 0 audio
September: 13 books, 1 audio
October: 13 books, 2 audio books
November: 15 books, 2 audio books
December: 11 books, 2 audio books

Unintentional Goal Met for 2007

I didn't start off the year of 2007 making any resolutions. I never keep them, so what is the point? I tend to make goals, so I guess I'm actually making resolutions, but with a different name.

I will post some of my goals for 2008 sometime this week. But I made some very positive changes this year, and they weren't even really a goal when the year started.

I have had a feeling for many years that I wanted to be eating differently, and I wanted my family to be eating differently. I played around with whole foods, but that just didn't seem to be quite it. It was a beginning, but didn't really get to the heart of what I was after.

For the last couple of years, we have purchased our honey from a guy that sells at our farmer's market. We were out of honey in the middle of May, so we went to the farmer's market to get some. While we were there, I stopped by a booth and got some information on a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). When I got home I went online and did some research, and everything started to click. In addition to eating more whole foods, I wanted us to eat more locally grown foods, and foods in their proper season. I wanted to preserve foods during their freshest season in order to eat more of a variety year-round.

So we joined the CSA and the rest has been wonderful. We are eating many more vegetables, some I had never cooked or eaten before this. I am consciously reading labels and getting away from foods with additives, especially High Fructose Corn Syrup. I recently read IN DEFENSE OF FOOD by Michael Pollan, and am even looking at labels for added soy products now as well.

We used to drink a ton of diet coke, and now we drink none. We drink lovely water, tea, coffee, and organic milk.

It has been an extremely positive step for us, one that I hope to keep with and improve during the coming year.

Movies Watched in 2007

Here are the movies we watched--most of them are DVDs we got from the library or from Netflix. A couple we actually went to the theater to see :) Ratings are from 1 (horrible) to 5 (fantastic) scale

1. Lady in the Water (3)
2. The Shaggy D.A. (4)
3. Invincible (4)
4. Little Miss Sunshine (3)
5. The Night Listener (3)
6. The Waltons, Season 1 (5)
7. The Illusionist (4)
8. A Scanner Darkly (2)
9. World Trade Center (3)
10. U2 Vertigo 2005 Live (5)
11. Gridiron Gang (3)
12. Flushed Away (4)
13. Zoom (3)
14. All the King's Men (3)
15. Jimmy Buffet: Live at Wrigley Field (4)
16. Casino Royale (4)
17. Flyboys (4)
18. Facing the Giants (5)
19. House Season 2 (5)
20. Happy Feet (3)
21. Eragon (3)
22. The Guardian (3)
23. The Holiday (3)
24. In Search of the Castaways (4)
25. St. Elsewhere Season 1 (4)
26. Mee-Shee The Water Giant (4)
27. The Pursuit of Happyness (4)
28. Thr3e (3)
29. Dreamgirls (4)
30. Deja Vu (4)
31. Durango Kids (3)
32. Catch and Release (2)
33. Arthur and the Invisibles (3)
34. The Departed (4)
35. Alex Rider:Operation Stormbreaker (3)
36. Kidnapped the complete series (5)
37. The Last Sin Eater (4)
38. Hot Lead and Cold Feet (4)
39. Fingersmith (2)
40. Ghost Rider (3)
41. Stranger than Fiction (4)
42. Bridge to Terabithia (4)
43. Plain Truth (3)
44. The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit (3)
45. The Astronaut Farmer (3)
46. See Jane Date (3)
47. Premonition (2)
48. Perfume:The Story of a Murderer (2) (I didn't like the book either)
49. 5 Children and It (3)
50. Keeping the Promise (3)
51. Pan's Labyrinth (4--more like 4 1/2)
52. The Ultimate Gift (4)
53. The Queen (4)
54. The Final Homecoming (2)
55. The Champagne Club (1--couldn't even finish)
56. Wild Hogs (4)
57. Unaccompanied Minors (3)
58. The Sopranos season 6 part 1 (5)
59. Laura (4)
60. Fracture (4)
61. Snowball Express (4)
62. We are Marshall (5)
63. Shooter (3)
64. Evan Almighty (3)
65. Next (3)
66. Zodiac (3)
67. Mr. Brooks (3)
68. Summer Magic (3)
69. Amazing Grace (4)
70. Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End (3)
71. Shrek the Third (3)
72. Enchanted (4)
73. Talladega Nights (3)
74. Mr. Bean's Holiday (4)
75. The TV Set (3)
76. Deck the Halls (3)
77. Georgia Rule (4)
78. 1408 (3)
79. Anne of Green Gables (4)
80. Flight 29 Down Vol 1 and 2 (4)
81. National Treasure Book of Secrets (4)
82. Ocean's 13 (3)
83. Maxed Out (3)
84. Underdog (3)
85. Hairspray (4)
86. Ratatouille (5)
87. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (4)
88. The Invisible (3)
89. Reign Over Me (5)
90. Surf's Up (3)
91. Are We Done Yet? (3)
92. Firehouse Dog (3)
93. The Number 23 (3)
94. Miss Potter (3)
95. Perfect Stranger (3)
96. Meet the Robinsons (5)
97. Idiocracy (2)
98. The Prestige (3)
99. Hollywoodland (3)
100. Becoming Jane (3)
101. One Night with the King (4)
102. The Second Chance (4)
103. Transformers (4)
104. TMNT (3)
105. Blades of Glory (3)
106. Knocked Up (4)
107. Epic Movie (1)
108. Music and Lyrics (3)
109. Dinner with Friends (3)
110. The North Avenue Irregulars (3)
111. The Last Mimzy (2)


I will add more if I think of them. I need to start keeping a movie journal like I do a book journal.

Reign Over Me

Yesterday, we watched the movie Reign Over Me. I have had so many emotions flowing around in my brain since it finished, I struggle even now to put them into words.

I read the reviews on Netflix and Amazon both, and they are quite mixed. People are either blown away by the movie or think it's frenetic and uneven.

After pondering it...I think that if a person has experienced a gut-wrenching grief in their life, then that person will find Reign Over Me incredibly realistic, moving, and heartfelt. Otherwise, I think a person would have difficulty identifying with the characters.

Adam Sandler plays a man who lost his wife and three daughters on September 11. His college roommate, played by Don Cheadle, runs into him on the streets and the two reconnect. Adam's character is very odd. He doesn't remember (or pretends not to remember) certain parts of his past. He refuses to talk about anything involving his family. He goes nuts if anyone brings it up. Everyone in his life, including Cheadle after a time, think he needs therapy, needs help, needs to be fixed.

Again, this is an immensely moving movie to me, because having experienced a raw sort of grief like this character, I can identify with wanting to close that part of your life off and not wanting to deal with it or remember any of it.

We talked about this movie (and cried some more) for an hour after it was over. I think it's so real and the writing is phenomenal.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Laced With Grace Giveaway

Details of this wonderful package from Laced With Grace

The package will include a Women of Faith study Bible (NIV/Hardcover); Lisa Whelchel’s Bible study tool for busy moms; a coffee mug from “Mugs of Truth“; the DVD “The Nativity Story“; the book “Love and Respect“; and a music CD by Becky Knight, who just released her first CD.



I encourage everyone to go visit and enter! If you have not read Love and Respect...you should! I place it up there as one of the top books about marriage and making your relationship work.

No Credit for Christmas

For the first time---ever---this year we did not use credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts. I know beyond a doubt that no one felt like they missed out on any gifts, in fact our kids made out like bandits.

Remembering back to October when we went to see Dave Ramsey, got on a budget, and cut up our credit cards. We didn't know it would be quite so difficult, since Christmas was just around the corner. But we saved where we could, spent all extra money on gifts, and were very creative with shopping and gift giving in general.

Let me say, it feels so incredibly good to leave the month of December and not be dreading the January bills. And we didn't even use LeeRoy's Christmas bonus to buy gifts like we usually do also...because he didn't even know if he was getting one until the week before Christmas.

We are just celebrating here, because we are on an incredible journey to get out of debt and stay there.

New Year, New Goals

The new year is quickly approaching. I have been thinking a lot about my goals for the new year, and am excited to post them as I work them out. 2007 has been an interesting up and down year for me in many different ways, especially with family issues that aren't resolved yet.

I look forward to sharing my goals and to getting some accountability for following through with them each month.

Children's Reviews Posted Today

When My Mother Was Eleven-Foot-Four

The Legend of St. Nicholas

Free Polly Pocket at Walgreens!

Here's a great deal I got today at Walgreens.

I got a Polly Pocket Activity Pad, hanging up in the toy section. It is regular priced at $4.99. Print out this coupon for $5.00 off and you make a penny on the deal! I got one today but I printed out another coupon and am going back tomorrow.

Excellent stocking stuffer!

2008 TBR Challenge

Here are the books from my TBR Piles that I plan to read in 2008--one per month.

1. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
2. The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue by Barbara Samuel
3. Blinded by Travis Thrasher
4. Miss Invisible by Laura Jensen Walker
5. Practically Perfect in Every Way by Jennifer Niesslein
6. Love, Greg and Lauren by Greg Manning
7. A Seahorse in the Thames by Susan Meissner
8. The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan
9. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
10. The Ultimate Reality Show by Clay Jacobsen
11. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
12. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

And for Extra Credit:
1. Chat Room by Linda Hall
2. Eyes of Elisha by Brandilyn Collins
3. The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
4. The Little Lady Agency by Hester Browne
5. Cookooff by Amy Sutherland
6. Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
7. Sippy Cups are Not for Chardonnay by Stefanie Wilder-Taylor
8. Inside My Heart by Robin McGraw
9. Strange but True by John Searles

New Review

High School Musical 2



This is a totally cute movie...my seven year old LOVES it...she cannot quit dancing and singing along.

Cookie Exchange

So, I am going to not one, but two cookie exchanges this year. I am just itching to make a cookie that everyone will want to eat!

At the second exchange, they have a "contest" where people taste a sample of each cookie and vote on their favorites to win a prize. I went to this exchange last year and was totally ignorant of the voting and how stiff the competition was. This year I have vowed to make something delicious.

I want to know...does anyone have anything tried and true that they would be willing to share? I have things that my family loves, but that doesn't mean they are great for a cookie exchange.

November Reads

161. Your Chariot Awaits by Lorena McCourtney C+
162. Wild Child, Waiting Mom by Wendi Hayden English and Karilee Hayden B
163. The Will of Wisteria by Denise Hildreth B+
164. Chasing Destiny by Eric Jerome Dickey D+
165. Someday by Karen Kingsbury B-
166. My Soul to Keep by Melanie Wells C+
167. Finding Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn B-
168. Talk of the Town by Lisa Wingate B-
169. The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen B-
170. Payback by Melody Carlson B
171. Sisters, Ink by Rebeca Seitz C+
172. Fallen by Matthew Raley C+
173. Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck B
174. Picket Fence Promises by Kathryn Springer B
175. Blue Heart Blessed by Susan Meissner B+

Audio:
16. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill B-
17. Hide by Lisa Gardner B
18. Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson B

New Reviews

A Prince Among Dogs

Giver of Gifts

The Will of Wisteria

Finding Father Christmas

My favorite of the bunch is The Will of Wisteria. A great story!

Book Prize Pack Giveaway

I am offering up a prize pack of three brand new Navpress titles!

Around the World in 80 Dates by Christa Ann Banister

From the Back Cover

Sydney Alexander is a travel writer. She's a very well-dressed travel writer--hasn't yet met a shoe or clearance sale she could pass up. She's funny. She's got a great relationship with her sis. She's got a hilarious best friend, Rain, who happens to be a hippie. And she's got a wonderful relationship with God. So what's missing?

A decent date. A date where she doesn't have to pay because he's "between jobs." A date where she's not fabulously fashionably ready to go only to learn "the band just got a last-minute gig" and he has to cancel. A date she wants to kiss good night--not run screaming from.

My Beautiful Disaster by Michelle Buckman

Book Description
Dixie Chambers is an average high school girl who's just been granted access into the popular crowd. Sucked into a world that resembles one big party, Dixie falls into an intimate relationship with local rock star Vince Evans. But as his nice-guy facade begins to slip, she discovers that Vince is a better actor than musician.

Making matters much worse, Dixie learns that she's pregnant. Terrified of her family's response, and fearful of what her friends will think, she faces a tough decision that will change her life forever.


Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson

From the Back Cover
Scotty Dawn has all the freedom a fifteen-year-old girl could want. As she and her mom, Charley, travel to movie sets for Charley's work, Scotty's allowed to go anywhere and be anything. But there are costs to such a life. Scotty doesn't know who she is, where she comes from, or who to trust. And who is the mysterious man they've been running from? Does he hold the clue to Charley's big secret?

Scotty writes in her Hollywood Nobody blog, and the answers she finds are darker than she had expected. Will she discover who she can trust and finally make sense of her world?

To Enter, leave a comment below, including a way for me to contact you.
If you are unable to leave a comment, send me an e-mail at parcelhome[at]comcast[dot]net with your name and e-mail address.
I will close entries on December 2 and draw for a winner. Good luck!

Congratulations to Gayla for winning this drawing!!
Everyone else, be on the lookout for more in the future.

Walgreens savings today

I got some great deals at Walgreens today. Thanks to Money Saving Mom for getting me pointed in the right direction!

Glucerna cereal $4.49, you get $4.49 register rewards (coupon good for that price on your next visit. So it was free, stacked it with a $1.25 off coupon, and made $1.25 on the deal.

Hersheys Special Dark Candy Bars. Used coupon from the Walgreens ad 4/$1. Stacked with a coupon from this Sunday's paper for Special Dark B1G1, which made the total 2 for .25

Sunsilk Creme TLC--$1.89 on clearance, I used a $2.00 off coupon I had clipped quite a while ago and made .11 on the deal .

L'Oreal Vive Conditioner--$2.19 on clearance. I used a $2.00 off coupon I had received when I got a free sample of this in the mail, so I got the conditioner for .19.

Fasprin--$3.99 mail-in EasySaver Rebate. I bought it with a coupon for $1.00 off that I found in Parade magazine yesterday. So when I get my rebate, I will have made $1.00 (minus the cost of the stamp)

Coffee Mate creamer. B1G1 coupon from Walgreens ad--made it 2/$2.19, stacked on a .50 coupon and got them for .85 each.

I need to start being more diligent about going there. I also got a great deal on the very expensive Shaper hairspray that I love...the super-giant can was on sale for $11, which is the price I usually pay for the regular sized can on sale (if I can find a sale). I was very pleased about that deal too.

Cows Unite!

During this past year, we have totally switched over to organic dairy products, and Organic Valley is one of our preferred brands. They have a new "Cows Unite" website (see ad at sidebar). It is free to join and if you do, please use me as a referral (so I can win some coupons or even free milk) parcelhome[at]comcast[dot]net

The cows will thank you!

If you want more information about why you should switch to organic dairy products, check this out:
http://www.organicvalley.coop/ There is some great info about organic foods and why to switch.

Freebies I found Today

Old El Paso Dinner Made Easy Kit

Sunsilk Sample

Reynolds Parchment Paper

Tide Pure Essentials

Wal-Mart Check this page fairly regularly, they always offer a good selection of freebies.

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

I saw this on the Martha Stewart show last week and it looked so good I had to try it!

It's a really moist, delicious cake, but could probably stand a little bit of frosting. A cream cheese frosting drizzle would be really good.

For the pumpkin, I used the remainder of the pie pumpkin that I had bought and cooked up. Yum. I saved the seeds and am going to plant some and see if I can get them to grow.

Sweet and Spicy Pumpkin Bundt Cake

From Martha Stewart Show

Nonstick cooking spray, for pan
4 cups cake flour (not self-rising), plus more for dusting
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin puree
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 14-cup Bundt pan with cooking spray. Dust with flour, and tap out excess.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Set aside.
3. Beat butter and brown sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on medium speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat until just combined. Add pumpkin puree, and beat until combined. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake cake until golden and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Carefully turn cake onto rack too cool completely. Before serving, dust with confectioners' sugar.
First published November 2007

Scavenger Hunt

There's a fun scavenger hunt going on...check out the link at the side of the page!

Kale

We get a lot of kale, collard greens, swiss chard, turnip greens, whatever greens in our CSA share. I have tried quite a few ways to make it and although my family will eat anything I make, they haven't loved it...until now. This recipe was a HUGE hit with everyone in the family, and I even had to divide it between their plates so that one person didn't eat it all. I got this from a farm blog:

Garlicky Braised Kale with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Serves 2

Braising softens kale, which will be a little tough and leathery if undercooked. Unfortunately, kale also loses its bright green color when properly cooked. As a variation, try using the pretty new variety of kale called cavolo nero, or Tuscan kale, in this recipe. Or use young turnip greens. You can also vary this recipe by sautéing onions or bacon with the garlic, or by adding red pepper flakes.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, cut in half, smashed, and peeled
2 Tbs. finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, well drained ( I used my own, reconstituted)

7 oz. stemmed kale leaves (from about 1/2 large bunch kale), washed and cut into 1-inch ribbons
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup low-salt chicken stock (canned is ok)
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 ounce crumbled goat cheese (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or a 3- to 4-qt. soup pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté, stirring, until starting to brown, 2 to 3 min. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Add the kale, tossing to coat it well with the oil. Season with the salt and a few grinds of pepper, and continue stirring until all the kale is wilted. Add the stock, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the kale has softened, about 8 min. Uncover, turn the heat to high, and boil away the remaining liquid, stirring frequently, until the pan is almost dry. Take the pan off the heat. Season with the vinegar and stir to combine. Transfer to a small serving dish or plates. Top with the crumbled goat cheese, if you like.

September and October's Reads

135. Passing Gas and Getting Paid for it by Bart Borsky B
136. Miss Match by Eryn Mangum B-
137. The Year of the Goat by Margaret Hathaway B-
138. Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge B-
139. Momzillas by Jill Kargman C+ TBR
140. Posh by Lucy Jackson C+ TBR
141. Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury B-
142. Chill Out, Josey! by Susan May Warren B-
143. Within This Circle by Deborah Raney C+
144. What Lies Within by Karen Ball B
145. The Choice by Nicholas Sparks B- TBR
146. Every Woman's Battle by Shannon Etheridge B+ TBR
147. Mediterranean Summer by Dave Shalleck B TBR
148. Living in a Foreign Language by Michael Tucker C
149. Healing Stones by Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn A
150. Waiting to Surface by Emily Listfield C+ TBR
151. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen B TBR
152. Solemnly Swear by Nancy Moser C
153. Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs B- TBR
154. For Better or For Worse by DiAnn Mills C+
155. Death of a Six Foot Teddy Bear by Sharon Dunn B-/C+
156. Reluctant Smuggler by Jill Elizabeth Nelson B-
157. Wishpers of the Bayou by Mindy Starns Clark B+
158. Skizzer by AJ Keisling C+
159. Double Blind by Hannah Alexander B-
160. The Good Nearby by Nancy Moser B- TBR

Audios
13. A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini B
14. In the Woods by Tana French C
15. Still Summer by Jacquelyn Mitchard B

What's Up With Me?

Thought I'd provide a long-overdue update. Here's what is going on in my life right now.

1. Still reviewing a lot. I am way overloaded with books, despite my best intentions to slow down and stop requesting so many books, I am still doing it. I guess it is a little better, but not so much that I would really notice. And I have slowed way down on my reading too...I have read 13 books for Aug, Sept, and October, where in those months last year I averaged 15 books. Fall is definitely slower for me than summer because I'm much more busy with school, volunteering, and such, but I just feel slower with reading than usual.

2. Our family situation is still tenuous. We're a little more distanced than we were in August and September, but it's still painful and truly deeply needing prayer. God is the only one who can help us through it, and only He can work the miracle that needs to be done.

3. We have embarked on Dave Ramsey 's Total Money Makeover plan. At the beginning of October, we went to see Dave live in Portland. It was totally inspirational, and since we already had the books we have been motivated to jump in full force. We had already completed baby step 1, which is set up a $1000 emergency fund. At the end of October, we made a budget, and after bills we are using cash for food and everything else. We cut up our one credit card, and are making steps to not create further debt as well as pay off our current debt using the debt snowball method. This is very exciting, because for the first time we are both on the same page about this.

4. We finished our summer of the CSA and decided to keep with it through the winter. Overall, it doesn't end up much more expensive than buying organic vegetables from the store, and it forces me to be creative in incorporating vegetables into our daily diet.

5. Other than the above things, volunteering at the kids' school, driving kids to and from gymnastics, as well as teaching women's Bible study, has kept me incredibly busy this fall.

I really hope to keep this more up to date, but I won't make any promises.