Book Review: Craving Grace

I rarely think of chick lit as non-fiction, but that is exactly what Lisa Velthouse has created in the book Craving Grace: A Story of Faith, Failure, and My Search for Sweetness .  It is funny, girlfriend-y, and laugh out loud funny, and yet is a memoir.

The book starts as Lisa experiences her first kiss. This doesn't sound that big of a deal until you realize she is the author of Saving My First Kiss: Why I'm Keeping Confetti in My Closet so she has to deal with the ramifications of being a hypocrite by not living up to the premise of her book. (Or is she a hypocrite? Is she no longer a self-righteous person instead?)

She keeps referring in the book to when she did “The Honey Project” when she fasted from sweets and what she during that time about God, herself, and others. As it went on, she also became more attuned to sweetness in things like ketchup. (Ketchup is sweet? Hmmmm.)

During the course of her tale, she moves into the basement of friends. It sounds like an ideal situation to me, but she obsesses over if she's doing enough chores and other things, such as sitting on the kitchen counter and leaving a pair of panties in the dryer accidentally.

The book is entitled “Craving Grace”, and Grace is exactly what Velthouse discovers. From reaction from others when she had her first kiss. From when she eats sweets during “The Honey Project”. And maybe that annoying man with the out of date hair cut in the drive through in front of her with a bunch of Christian bumper stickers. . . maybe . . . just maybe. . . he's not as obnoxious as she first thought.

I very much enjoyed this book (with the exception of her description of an annoying pastor. He reminded me too much of someone out of my past! But then again that's a trait of good writing!) I recommend this book to any woman who would like to explore the concept of grace in a lighthearted, fun way, or any lover of chick lit. You did know chick lit doesn't need to be fiction, didn't you?

I received this book from from the publisher as part of their summer reading program. The opinions of the review are my own.

Book Review: Primal by Mark Batterson

When I think of the word “Primal”, I often think of an uncivilized culture. But in the book “Primal” Mark Batterson strips away all the 21st century trappings of Christianity to take us back to the roots of our faith. With four sections (Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength), I expect there will be one that resonates more than the others with you. While I found the section on the mind fascinating because I always do love a good trivia fact, it wasn't that one that got me excited. I loved the “Strength of Christianity”. One of my favorite parts of the book is where he feels God speaks to him that the sound of the bricks in an orphanage that he is helping to build is music to God's ears. It's often so easy to see Christians as something we are, not as something we do and live out.

You can read the first chapter right here:

Primal by Mark Batterson (Chapter 1)
I loved how on page 148 he talks about how for us to quit sinning is not our resolve to do better, but the fact we need to capture a vision from God. I also loved how he said on page 149, “If you do little things like they are big things, God will bless them and use them.”

This would be a fantastic book for a Bible study group. It includes discussion questions in the back and there is an accompanying Primal: DVD-Based Study that you can also purchase.

Be forewarned, this is a rather heavy book. It's not beach reading material. If I were to compare books with meals, this is a steak. It needs to be savored, but I definitely recommend it.

FTC disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. The opinions are my own.


I would appriciate it if you would take a moment and rank my review.  This helps in what books are available for me to review in the future.  Thank you.

Bath Time!

It's that time of year again! It's warm, and I try to give the guinea pigs a bath!  Today was Baby Crockett's turn.  Sometimes the pigs enjoy their bath, sometimes not, and I never know how it's going to go.  Today, Crockett treated it like a day at the spa.  I turned on the water, made sure it was a nice warm temperature, and then put him in the sink.  He was so happy.  I scrubbed him and he was doing lap talk.  He needed a bath so I'm sure he felt better for that reason, but I was surprised how much he enjoyed it! 

He's a little more dry in this photo than he was in the sink, but he's just as happy!

Friday Fotos -- my guinea pigs

I've had a super busy week and haven't been able to blog much, but here's a few new photos of my guinea pigs. :)

My Memory nightshirt

I'll be the first to admit I was a little weird and my friends were also a little, um, unique back in high school.

Well, I was cleaning recently and found the nightshirt I added to for about a year back in the day.   I'd take fabric paint and we'd write quotes and such, and it's now like a fabric scrapbook, although after about 20 years some of the words are peeling.  The glow in the dark paint still works, though, and the night I tested it, I would see "Shelly Lynn" lit up in my dark bedroom.

The above photo is to represent one of my friends' saying "Pin a Rose on your nose", but I then started saying "Pin a flower on your face" because that's the way it looked to me after I painted it on the shirt.

There's well over 100 sayings and each one means something (though with some the meaning has seemed to fade).I won't list them all, but here's some of them:

Whatcha been up to for the last year  *  Electric Slide   *  taters  *  4 dictionaries  *  clip on shades  *  my nose itches  *  greening  *  Daryll's  *  Name Your Poison  *  Memorial Mausoleum  *  Why don't angels play bongo drums?  *  Pretty Good Fun  *  She's secular  *  Visdom -- no Wisdom   *  The 70s are alive and well in that bag  *  I didn't know meatloaf made a noise  *  RF 501 Radio  *  Life is Like a Plate of Chipped Ham  *  Loof  *  26 Baked Potatoes  *  trench coat  *  Ezra  *  chocolate thumbprint cookies  *  Lucas McGraw  *  Swabie  *  Helga's Dowry  *  All's Quiet on the Western Front *  NIPC  *  Guys are the chili powder of life (oh my!  Which of my friends coined that phrase!)  *  There goes a REGULAR guy  *  Fabric store on the beach  *  Lot's birdseed  *  Camp GoNoWhere  *  Your library card is stuck to my foot  *  It's a towel, no it feels like curtains, IT'S BELLBOTTOMS  *  easy cheese  *  1972 penny  *  One person eating a tart is not two people eating a tart  *  make sure the candles are out  *  I'm giving birth to a headache  *  chicken bone love offering  *  Someone's sleeping Lord, Kumbuya  *  T Rex on PMS  *  Heraldina  *  broccoli soup  *  Ten in a A Taurus  *  The Galley Buffet  *  The Fingernail that works Wonders  *  I love your Smile (which I drew complete with missing teeth for a funny effect)

I have videos of some of these events.  But more important I still have some of these friends.  I posted the recipe for the chocolate pudding thumbprint cookies on Facebook a couple years ago.  One of my friends made them and said they weren't as good as they were 20 years ago.  I kind of doubt they would be.  Carrying eggs (not even in a bag, just an egg in each hand) from another street to my house, then to make a parody of a Julia Child cookie show. 

We may have been a bit unique, but we had fun.  Been there, done that, and I still have the nightshirt to prove it!



Just for Today!

Setting a goal that seems so far in the distance to achieve is often discouraging. That's where the concept of The One-Day Way: Today Is All the Time You Need to Lose All the Weight You Want
comes in. Instead of looking ahead to fit into a bikini for the beach next summer, look fantastic for your 20th high school reunion, or even be able to wear a certain dress to the company Christmas party, those goals are sometimes so long in the future or you have so much to lose that you give up before then.

What Chantel Hobbs teaches is taking one day at a time. Just for today you will eat healthy. Just for today you can fit in 30 minutes of cardio. It doesn't seem as daunting to think you will stay on track just for today. But when you start thinking of all those days between now and the bikini, that's often where failure lies, rarely in just today.

There are 31 exercises using a medicine ball included in this book as well as sample menus.
Overall, rather than a diet book, I would call this an encouragement to lose weight book. You can do this for today. Forget about yesterday, and don't worry about tomorrow. Just do this TODAY!

Here is a video about how the author lost weight:




Would you like to read chapter one?  You can do so right here! 


One Day Way by Chantel Hobbs (Chapter 1)


Like what you read?  You can buy it here:   The One-Day Way: Today Is All the Time You Need to Lose All the Weight You Want



FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for a review. The opinions contained in this review are mine.

Saying Goodbye again.

I have dear friends who live in Russia. They are from the USA but their job takes them overseas for three years at a time. 

This week was the event I tried to pretend all year that would not happen.  We said goodbye until I visit.  (I visited for two weeks in 2009.) 

There's just so many things they miss out on living overseas.  And there's so many things I miss out on, too.  In 2009 I was able to be at my "niece's" 4th birthday party.  That was so special to be able to share a party with them.  It is a rare thing.

I'm thankful for 8 cent a minute telephone rates through our telephone company.  I'm thankful for Skype.  I'm thankful for the Scrabble site where he and I make a Scrabble play almost daily and might include some small bit of information.  I'm thankful for Facebook.

But there are times I just wish they lived closer.

I'll miss picking up the phone and seeing it's them.  (With Skype it says 'unknown number').  I'll miss the phone calls saying "We're going to be in -- what day works for you?"  (His parents live near me.)

I'm going to miss hearing "Aunt Jenn".  I'm going to miss the hugs.  The smiles of total and complete joy my infant "nephew" gives everyone.

But I'm looking forward to Skype chats, photos, and visiting again in a couple years.

Somehow, though, it doesn't seem as hard this time.  I've visited Russia.  When they say, "Our new place is near the school" I know where the school is. 

Rich Mullins wrote in a song "Far away is just somewhere you've never been."  May be.  But right now, Russia seems a very long way away when five people I love so much are moving back there. 

This is the last photo I'll have taken with my "niece" and "nephew" for a few years.

Couponing to a T.

I did an interesting deal today.

I noticed a while back I needed to replace some of my summer t-shirts.

And in the May issue of All You, there was a $5 coupon that was good on Just My Size shirts.

I had won a $50 gift card, so I used that to buy some extra All You magazines.

Today I purchased 5 t-shirts that were $6 each.  After coupons, today I paid $5 for ALL.  (Of course, I bought the magazines for the coupons, so at $1.88 each for those, I paid $2.88). 

But $2.88 for a new T-shirt isn't bad when you need them.  :)  I still have a few coupons left to use before they expire, too!  Might go with something more than just a plain t-shirt next time, but the plain ones were cheaper, and they are easier to pair with more items.

Book Review: Growing Up Amish

I felt a more appropriate name for “Growing Up Amish: A Memoir” would have been “Leaving the Amish: A Memoir”. I expected this memoir to be more about experiences as the author was a child, but I felt that instead he focused on the experience of trying to leave the Amish Church. Even so, it was an enjoyable read into the life of a culture that while they may live near me, I know little about them.


Ira Wagler was born in Canada as an Amish child. He recounts the moves, why they moved, and how the different Amish districts and bishops differed in what they allowed. The world was calling to him, and although he was afraid of what might happen if he left the Amish Church (meaning he would go to hell), the allure of the world beckoned.

He recounts tales of youthful reckless stunts and jobs across the western United States and into Canada.

He returns to the Amish Church. He gets baptized as a full member. His engagement is thought to be enough to settle him down. But it wasn't. He leaves. And returns. And leaves for good.

I appreciated he voiced his struggles. The Amish culture is all he knew growing up. Of course it has it's attractions, but so does the world with it's pick up trucks, radios, and blue jeans.

It may be considered another “Coming of Age” memoir, but this one is very different than any I've ever read. It is a good book, and I definitely enjoyed it.  It releases on July 1, 2011 and I encourage you to add it to your summer reading list.

FTC disclaimer: I received a copy of this book free from the publisher in exchange for a review. The opinions expressed about it are my own.

Guest Blog Post by: Anonymous Couponer

I received this as an e-mail last week.  I thought it was so funny and currently appropriate I asked if I could use it as an anonymous guest post!  I think you will enjoy!  I definately enjoy my bargains, but like my guest blogger, I like to do it ethically, honestly, and politely (i.e. not clearing shelves).

~~~~~

I went to Staples to get the $5.99 ream of copy paper, minus the $3 coupon. Then do the $3 rebate. The cashier was friendly and asked me if I did coupons. I said, "Yes, but I am not an extreme coupon person". She then asked what sites I liked.


Gosh, I almost feel embarrassed and don't want anything to do with the extreme couponer persona. Uggg. Now I try not to take my coupon binders in the store because so many people are trailing around trying to be "extremers". I just want to lay low.

I hate feeling crummy about using coupons! But, hey, I will just keep plugging along with my handful of coupons and maybe I can invent an invisible or camouflaged coupon holder!!

Ha, maybe I can hide the coupons and then just whip them out at the last minute. I could wear a dark pair of shades and a trench coat. That way I could get attention for wearing that outfit in 100 degree Texas heat rather than attention for the coupons! LOL

Or maybe I could throw them off by borrowing a small child and bribing them to go through the checkout for me. Ha... or how about wearing a pair of panty hose on my head and waving around that phone on tv that has such a clear picture of a tarantula. Then the cashier could scream hysterically while I quickly scan the coupons myself. Then my pantyhosed head shot will be unidentifiable on the homeland security tapes! LOL

Okay, I just thought I would vent to a fellow couponer that doesn't care for the extremes either!!

Happy couponing!! ( Saying that in a whisper)