Garden update

Here's some pictures from the garden.

Broccoli--which we ate last night and it was delicious.

German red strawberry tomatoes. This is an heirloom variety that I cannot wait to try!

The beginnings of the cucumber pickles

Reviews

I decided to take another week off from the giveaways...too much to do this week, sorry! Here are my latest reviews:





Handoff










A New Earth, an Old Deception
















ER Season 9








Transformers Animated: Transform and Roll Out













Moose: A Memoir of Fat Camp

Winner of The Edge of Recall

The winner of the book The Edge of Recall is:

Katrina gdy2shoes23@...

I will be contacting you shortly. If I don't hear from you within 48 hours, I'll draw another name.


On a side note, I'm taking a week off from giveaways because we'll be on vacation on and off this week and I'm not going to be checking my e-mail very regularly, nor updating my blog.

I'll catch you all on Monday the 7th for the next one!

Come to Jesus

In order to watch/listen, make sure you turn off the music on the right.

This song is used in the VBS our church is doing this week, and let me tell you, it's exactly what I needed to hear today.





Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!

Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!

And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!

Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!

O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!

And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!

Giveaway of the Week--The Edge of Recall

This week's giveaway is a new release from Bethany House publishers--The Edge of Recall by Kristen Heitzmann! I reviewed this book for Romantic Times, and it's definitely an exciting page turner.

Tessa Young, an up-and-coming landscape architect who specializes in the design and creation of labyrinths, has immersed herself in the mythological, spiritual, and healing aspects of the elaborate structures.

She also is searching for God and hoping to make sense of the nightmares that have plagued her since childhood. When Smith Chandler, an estranged colleague--with whom she'd half fallen in love a dozen times before catching herself every time--calls to propose a project he claims is the opportunity of a lifetime, she reluctantly agrees to check it out.

Smith is reconstructing a pre-Revolutionary War abbey for wealthy clients. Among its remarkable features is an overgrown labyrinth. Unable to resist, Tessa accepts his offer to work with him. Soon she is immersed in the project of a lifetime. But one evening, after weeks of work in the labyrinth, Tessa and Smith are attacked. While protecting Tessa, Smith is stabbed, and the nightmare begins...again.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Mistaken Identity Winner!

The winner is......

Pamela!
cepjwms@...

I'll be e-mailing for your address. If I don't hear from you in 48 hours I'll move on to the next random number.

I'll be posting the next book giveaway shortly, so if you didn't win this one, maybe it will be the next one!

Wonder Brains Giveaway

http://www.wonderbrains.com/ is offering a giveaway in which you can win a $50 gift certificate to their store. There are some fantastic items in the store, such as:

Blokus--a great game for families. We have really enjoyed playing it together and have taught it to kids as young as four.

My daughter thinks this magnetic mosaics kit looks very fun.

My son thinks this Dino Digs game would be great--like battleship, archaeologist style?

Follow the Wonder Brains button in my sidebar to sign up for this giveaway--the only problem will be making a decision what to spend it on!

Heavenly Carrot Cake

Made this yesterday and it turned out wonderfully! Full of flavor and the frosting just makes the cake. Slightly labor intensive, but the taste...yum, it's worth it!

Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Icing

This delicious recipe is courtesy of Jamie Oliver and can be found in his cookbook, "Cook with Jamie."

Ingredients
Serves 8 to 10.
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 cups light-brown sugar
5 large eggs, separated
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup ground almonds
4 ounces shelled walnuts, chopped, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
10 ounces carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
Sea salt
4 ounces mascarpone cheese
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 scant cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
Zest and juice of two limes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-2-inch square baking pan (My note: I used this pan and there was way too much batter, it went all over the inside of my oven. Use your best judgment and use a 13 X 9 pan if you think there's too much batter) and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, pulsing after each addition. Add orange zest and juice; pulse to combine. Add baking powder; pulse to combine. Add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger; pulse until mixture is well combined.
3. In a large bowl whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. Gently fold in almonds, walnuts, flour, and carrots; fold cake mixture into egg white mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cake cool in the pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and lime zest and juice. Spread mixture over top of cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped walnuts if desired.

How does $100 to Land's End Sound?

Mom Select is offering an opportunity to win a $100 gift card to Land's End. How handy would that be for your back to school shopping?

Click here to take the Survey by midnight (CST) on June 25 and you'll be entered into the drawing. It's very short--only 18 questions--and you could win a hefty prize!

They are giving away five cards, so that increases your chances of winning as well!

If you're interested in opportunities from Mom Select, you can go to their website at www.momselect.com and sign up.

Book Giveaway of the Week

I had so many interesting commments about this book, as well as quite a few discussions with people about it, so I thought I'd make it available as a giveaway.

This is Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie VanRyn and Newell, Colleen and Whitney Cerak, from Howard Publishers.

Meet Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak: one buried under the wrong name, one in a coma and being cared for by the wrong family.

This shocking case of mistaken identity stunned the country and made national news. Would it destroy a family? Shatter their faith? Push two families into bitterness, resentment, and guilt?
Read this unprecedented story of two traumatized families who describe their ordeal and explore the bond sustaining and uniting them as they deal with their bizarre reversal of life lost and life found.

And join Whitney Cerak, the sole surviving student, as she comes to terms with her new identity, forever altered, yet on the brink of new beginnings.
Mistaken Identity weaves a complex tale of honesty, vulnerability, loss, hope, faith, and love in the face of one of the strangest twists of circumstances imaginable.

A link to my review can be found in the post below.

To enter:

1. Leave a comment on this post, tell me something interesting about yourself.

2. Make sure you leave a valid e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win.

3. For a bonus entry, subscribe to my feed (see right hand sidebar) or let me know if you're already subscribed.

4. Deadline to enter is Saturday, June 21, I'll get numbers via random.org on Sunday to determine a winner.

Wahington's Lady Winner

The winner of Washington's Lady is:

#13 chelleandyg@...

I will send you an e-mail and if I don't hear from you in 48 hours I'll use the next random number from my list.

Thanks to everyone for entering!

Re-Draw for Sisterchicks

Since the winner of Sisterchicks Go Brit! didn't contact me within the time frame listed, I got another random number and the new winner is:

#15 Patty pleblanc_1@...

I'm off to contact the winner, if I don't hear from her within 48 hours, I'll draw again.

Latest Reviews

Beyond the Night


Mistaken Identity


Cory in the House: Newt and Improved Edition


Minutemen

Wine Bags--For More than just Wine!

It's been a while since I had something I could actually think of that works for me (I know, I'm a loser). But today I thought of something that I love!

A little background:


I got this reusable wine bag free at the grocery store a long time ago. I don't buy that much wine, and when I do, it's one bottle at a time so it seems useless to put it in a 6-bottle wine bag. I have four other big reusable bags that I use all the time, and could never figure out what to do with my little wine bag, and I thought that maybe it was getting lonely (well, no, I didn't really think that) but I was frustrated that I couldn't come up with a use for it.





Then I went on a shopping trip to Walgreens, and was planning to go to the regular grocery store for a mega trip right afterward, where I knew I was going to be using all four of my bags. I thought of the wine bag, and decided to give it a try.





Well, what do you know? It is the perfect bag for Walgreens shopping. The little compartments are great for shampoos, toothpaste, all of the little drugstore things I buy there. The cashier was impressed. The lady behind me in line asked where I got my "toiletries bag"!

I just put a few things in here to show you the general idea, but it actually holds quite a number of items.

Wine bags--not just for wine anymore!

Next Set of Winners!

Congratulations to the next two winners of books:

Deep in the Heart of Trouble--Cheryl
#23--shryackmom@...

Danny Gospel--Sarah
#7 Rom8vs28@...

I'm off to contact you, if I don't hear from you in 48 hours I'll go to the next chosen numbers.

Next Two Winners!

The winner of From a Distance is:
#13 cjarvis@....

The winner of Sisterchicks Go Brit! is:

#4 spowell@.....


I'm off to notify the winners! If I don't hear back within 48 hours, I'll give the prize to the next numbers on my random list.

I also wanted to mention that I am using http://www.random.org/ to choose the numbers...it looks like number 4 was a popular number two out of four times so far.

First two Winners!

The winner of The Will of Wisteria is #17:
Michelle--joyfulhutch@...

The Winner of Kill Me if You Can is #4
Ashley--ashley.vanburen@...

I'm off to notify the winners! If I don't hear from you within 48 hours, I will move on to the next numbers on my list.

Giveaway Day 7

I apologize for skipping out on you yesterday. We FINALLY saw the sun after weeks of rain and cold (it's back to rain today) so I spend the entire day outside. Here is my final giveaway in my Week of Book Giveaways. Won't be the final one ever, because from here on, I'll be having a giveaway once a week. Like I mentioned before, I literally have stacks and stacks of books here just waiting for new homes.

Today's book to give away is Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser, from Bethany House Publishers.

It has been said that without George Washington there would be no United States. But without Martha, there would be no George Washington. He called her "my other self."Who was this woman who captured the heart of our country's founder?

She dreams of a quiet life with her beloved George, but war looms...Though still a young woman, Martha Dandridge Custis was a wealthy, attractive widow and the mother of two small children with no desire to remarry. But when a striking war hero steps into her life, she realizes that she is ready to love again. She is courted by, then marries the French and Indian War hero. Yet she wonders whether this man, accustomed to courageous military exploits, can settle down to a simple life of farming and being a father to her children.

Even as she longs for domestic bliss, Martha soon realizes she will have to risk everything dear to her and find the courage to get behind a dream much larger than her own.

Her new life as Martha Washington took her through blissful times at Mount Vernon, family tragedies, six years of her husband's absence during the Revolutionary War, and her position as a reluctant First Lady.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Giveaway Day 6

Today's book is Danny Gospel by David Athey, from Bethany House Publishers

Once he'd performed in his family's gospel band, but now most of his loved ones have passed on. Still known as "Danny Gospel," he is living a sedate, quiet life as a postman in a small Iowa town. Soon his tranquil existence is broken open by--a dream, a vision, a sign?--a beautiful woman he is sure is his "beloved." Logic and sense tucked safely out of harm's way, Danny launches a quest to find his true love. Always good-natured, he is a hero on a journey--dreaming impossible dreams and, no matter how much he must suffer, pursuing romance and heavenly glory.


But is his quest really for a vision of beauty--or is it a journey through pains too deep to name and emotions too raw to feel?

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Giveaway Day 5

Today's Book is Deep in the Heart of Trouble by Deeanne Gist, from Bethany House Publishers

The last time readers saw Essie Spreckelmeyer, she was courting trouble.

Four years later, she's wearing bloomers, leading the Corsicana Velocipede Club, and running her father's oil company—and she couldn’t imagine trading any of it. Even for a husband.

Tony Morgan, the disinherited son of an oil baron, arrives in boomtown Corsicana, Texas, with the intention of rising to the top and proving himself to the world.

His new job with Sullivan Oil, however, finds him butting heads with a headstrong blonde who contradicts his orders, drafts him to represent the company in a bicycle race, and tangles with his ambitions.

Is love around the corner, or are they deep in the heart of trouble?

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Giveaway Day 4

Today's book is Sisterchicks Go Brit! by Robin Jones Gunn, from Multnomah Publishers.

SISTERCHICK® n: a friend who shares the deepest wonders of your heart, loves you like a sister, and provides a reality check when you’re being a brat.

Two midlife mamas hop over to jolly ole England and encounter so much more than the usual tourist stops. Liz does have a bit of a childhood crush on Big Ben, and she has hoped to “meet” him ever since her fifteenth birthday. Kellie dreams of starting an interior design business and figures Liz needs to be a part of that equation–a calculation that hasn’t added up for Liz yet.

Nothing on the excursion goes the way these two friends had envisioned. They start with a village pancake race and end up being held for questioning on The Underground. Kellie and Liz take a wild tour through the land of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and then find themselves swept up, up, and away in a hot air balloon over the Cotswalds. London beckons with the Tower of London, Windsor Castle, shopping at Portabella Road in Knotting Hill, and of course, reservations at the Ritz for a posh high tea.

A few detours along the way and the possibility of being lost in a London fog of wonderment aren’t enough to stop these two Sisterchicks! Each step of their regal journey is lined with evidence of God’s gracious compassion, and both come to realize that God knows their every wish. He is the One who planted every dream in their hearts.

And, oh, what a surprise awaits them when they return home!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Giveaway Day 3

Today's book giveaway is From a Distance, by Tamera Alexander, from Bethany House Publishers


What happens when the realization of a dream isn't what you imagined... and the secret you've spent a lifetime guarding is finally laid bare?

Determined to become one of the country's premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career, and her life. Daniel Ranslett is a man shackled by his Confederate past, and he'll do anything to protect his land, and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger, Daniel is called upon to repay a debt. He's a man of his word, but repaying that debt could reveal secrets from his past he would prefer remain buried.

Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth's lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met from a distance.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Giveaway Day 2

Today's Giveaway is Kill Me If You Can by Nicole Young, from Revell Publishers

Patricia Amble might be down, but she's not dead --- yet.Tish has left the Detroit suburbs for her next renovation project: an old log cabin in Michigan's remote Upper Peninsula. And the fun part --- it's the same cabin where she spent her childhood summers. The fresh air and solitude are just what she needs after her flight from romance and her brushes with death.As Tish arrives at her new home, her hope for peace and quiet is shattered when she finds a torn photo of her dead mother with the words "don't ask why" written across her face. Mysterious relatives, old rivalries, and a dangerous drug ring may make this twenty-six-year-old mystery more than she can handle. Tish must put together the pieces of her mother's death or risk losing everything --- including her own life.

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Giveaway Day 1

For my first giveaway, I have the fantastic book, The Will of Wisteria by Denise Hildreth.

From the back:

Charleston blue blood Clayton Wilcott "got religion" late in life; so late, it turns out his kids never took to it. So he's left a provisional will delivered in a highly unorthodox way.

Now they're going to have to honor Daddy's commandments from beyond the grave--for a full year--or be cut off from their substantial inheritances.

The scent of wisteria lingers in the air as the four spoiled Wilcotts battle for their birthright.

Here's the link to my review of The Will of Wisteria

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

You might want to...

Subscribe to my feed, or give yourself a reminder to check back here next week!

I will be doing a full week of book giveaways, so you'll want to return to enter!

Garden

So this year we decided to plant a garden. We still belong to the CSA, but we wanted to grow some food ourselves, particularly some tomatoes. After reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I became convinced that we need to be finding more local sources for our foods, and we should be growing some of it ourselves! So we build a planter box in our front yard, which receives the majority of sun.

Here it is after we built it and filled it with dirt. We then planted seven heirloom tomato plants, and the kids had planted radishes at their library group, so we put those down the middle.

Here it is after we planted some other things: peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers (small for pickles), and even more tomatoes. We ran out of room, so we planted some things in tubs. You can see everything is getting bigger.

Here's a shot as of yesterday, right after the kids harvested their radishes. They were thrilled! The tomatoes are getting quite large. We have a few blossoms, but it's really not anywhere close to tomato season around here yet. Today it's 50 degrees outside, so we don't have the consistent >70 that we need for good tomato production (I know that at least one of ours is fairly early and will produce at lower temps, but they prefer it to be warm, that's why we get tomatoes late into September around here)

And here's the radish harvest! I used a few of them in the coleslaw tonight and it turned out beautifully. Both the kids ate lots.

I will continue to share our harvest as things become ripe and we pick them.

Win a Getaway

Check out the Seattle Mom Blogs for a chance to win a Seabrook vacation . I just took a look at the houses available, and wow, they look wonderful.



Take a chance, you just might win!

GASP!

That sound you hear...yeah...that's me gasping for breath.

Today we started the Couch to 5K running program.

Uh, yeah, you heard me right, I was ACTUALLY RUNNING.

Well, not exactly running, slooooowly jogging, but I was attempting. I give myself huge props...except when I was jogging, Logan came swiftly walking past me saying, "Mommy, I can walk faster than you are running!"

I am determined though, and even if I never make it running faster than Logan can walk, it's certainly better than sitting on the couch eating Milk Duds (like I would ever do that, right?)

LOL...I am going to pass out now.

I knew I should live in the country...

You Should Live in the Country

You are laid back, calm, and good at entertaining yourself. You don't need an expensive big city to keep you busy. You'll take the peaceful life over the stressful life any day of the week.

Where Should You Live?

Condolences for Steven Curtis Chapman

On Wednesday evening, contemporary Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman's five year old daughter Maria was killed in a tragic accident. There is a commemorative blog set up http://chapmanchannel.typepad.com/inmemoryofmaria/ where people can leave messages for the family, and there is a fantastic video of Steven and Maria that they just made a short bit ago.

The Kid in Me

In searching for a picture that captures the essence of The Kid in Me for this photo contest, I couldn't find anything of me personally that spoke "kid." Maybe it's because I'm almost always the one taking the picture, but this picture of Logan just called out to be entered. He's screaming, on the beach, enjoying the glorious summer day. What is childhood about other than that?

Sharing Some Links

I haven't had time to do this for a while, so here are some fun links I've seen lately:

Coffee and Vanilla does a monthly "Wholesome Lunchbox" event. Great photos and ideas for packed lunches. Four weeks until my kids are out of school and I really needed some inspiration!

Are you a mom? Maybe you'd be interested in joining the Mom Select panel. Looks interesting, I'll let you all know if/when I hear from them.

Boo Mama talks about the (mostly) guy phenomenon of "Unboxing"--trust me, read the comments too if you want a great laugh.

Culinary Fool has a to-die-for looking coffee cake. I loooove coffee cake, this is a must try for me.

Fabulous Nightline report about a family in LA who have turned their yard into a garden...and so much more :The Real Simple Life

Movie Update

Haven't updated the movies we've watched recently, so I thought I'd do that again.

32. Dan in Real Life 4 1/2
33. Ladies in Lavender 3 1/2
34. Death at a Funeral 3 1/2
35. The Darjeeling Limited 2
36. Bee Movie 3
37. No Reservations 3
38. Five Days 4-4 1/2
39. Horton Hears a Who 3 1/2
40. I Am Legend 3 1/2
41. Daddy Day Camp 2 1/2
42. No Country for Old Men 3 1/2
43. Nim's Island 3-3 1/2
44. American Gangster 4
45. Nancy Drew 3
46. Water Horse 3
47. Martian Child 3 1/2
48. The Mist 2 1/2
49. Rendition 3
50. Lars and the Real Girl 4
51. Pippi Longstocking 3
52. Juno 4
53. The Orphanage 4

April Reads

So, a little bit late, but here's what I read in April

47. There's No Place Like Here by Cecelia Ahern C+
48. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult C+
49. Who Stole My Church? by Gordon MacDonald A
50. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger B
51. Shem Creek by Dorothea Benton Frank D+
52. Black Ice by Linda Hall C+
53. Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz B+
54. Blood Brothers by Rick Acker B-
55. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion C-
56. The Prince Charming List by Kathryn Springer B
57. Vanish by Tom Pawlik B
58. Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck B
59. The Edge of Recall by Kristen Heitzmann B-

No Audios completed this month. I started quite a few and gave up.

One of those Moments...

Hubby and I went to Starbucks today. Kids were at 4-H, we had just come from the hardware store where we compared the pros and cons of each type of outdoor clothesline--which, by the way, we did not buy yet because there are so many things to consider.

Anyway, went to Starbucks for a treat, because I had some gift cards I could use. We got in there, and I handed the cashier my two gift cards so he could check the balances. He said, "our machine is broken and it isn't reading the cards today. You can use them, but it won't take any money off of your balance, so it doesn't matter how much money is on the card. If any."

This SHOULD have been my clue to think, "ah-ha! Free coffee!"

But no, I ordered a grande iced tea.

The clerk says, "Grande? Are you suuuuure you don't want Venti?" Making every gesture in that direction other than winking and pointing to the card, but I don't think I would have caught on then either.

So hubby orders a grande frappuccino. Again, he says, "Only grande? Are you SURE?"

We are just puzzled still. We both say yes.

He places our orders, then rings us up, slides my gift card through the machine, and says thanks for coming, we got our $6 order for free.

Ok, are we just DENSE or what? We took our drinks outside, and we both commented on our extreme idiocy at not getting what the guy was trying to say, which was:

Order the biggest, most expensive thing, because it's FREE!!!!

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!