Author Archive
The Help :: A Book Giveaway
Posted on: July 28, 2011
- In: Life
- 24 Comments
I might have mentioned that I recently read The Help by Kathryn Stockett. The first time I’d ever heard about The Help was when I saw a preview for the movie. When I realized that the movie was based on a book, I just knew I had to read it. Now.
On Amazon, The Help is described as –
Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
What made me love this book so much?
Growing up in Tennessee, anything Southern is near and dear to me. And the stigma that is left on our Southern states {of being racist, simple-minded, unwilling to change} is something I like exploring. I love the idea of people, who grew up among hate and disdain, realizing that’s not how life should be. That people take a stand against what is wrong, and take steps to stop it. Even if they are small steps.
I read this book in four days. I haven’t read a book that fast since Julia was born. I just couldn’t put it down. And I figured, if I liked the book that much, maybe y’all might to. So, I’m hosting a giveaway for a copy of The Help.
Here’s how you enter:
1. Leave a comment, letting me know how you first heard about The Help.
2. Facebook or Tweet it (then leave me a comment letting me know you did).
3. Refer a friend who leaves a comment.
The giveaway ends on Friday, August 5 at 11:59pm CST.
This giveaway is for US residents only – sorry to all my UK friends.
Visit Jill at Diaper Diaries for more Things I Love Thursday.
This giveaway is not associated with or funded by Kathryn Stockett and is just my way of spreading around a really good book.
- In: Life
- 12 Comments
The past weekend, I wanted to make a batch of my favorite chocolate chip cookies. As I got going, I decided to make a double batch to freeze the other half. I’d always read about making double batches, but for some reason I’ve just never done it. Until now.
I measured out my cookies on my baking sheet and popped them in the freezer:
Once they were frozen {about an hour}, I put them in a big ziploc bag:
Just zip up your bag, and pop them back into the freezer. When you’re ready to bake them, just set them on your baking sheet and bake as usual {though, you may need to allow more time than called for}.
And now, whenever I crave Baby Boy craves cookies, I can just sneak into the freezer and pull them out.
Have you ever frozen ready to make cookies? If so, what did you think of them?
Visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.
- In: Life
- 14 Comments
Every once in a while, I think about putting my blog on hold. Sometimes, forever. Sometimes, just for a few days. The reasons vary from real life coming first, to not having much to write about. But for the last several days, my blog {and anything internet related} has been pretty far from my mind. Why? Well, I’ve got a list for ya:
1. I’m reading The Help. And by golly, it is a good book. Makes me want to say things like “Law, she done gotten herself prettied up”. Or “I swanee, if I done told you once, I told you a thousand times”.
2. It’s hot. I know, I know, unless you live in the Pacific Northwest, it’s hot. But seriously, I’m breaking a sweat as I type. At ten o’clock at night. In the a/c. With the fan going. Law, help me. That’s pregnancy in Texas. In the summer.
3. I’m being more intentional with Julia. I hate to admit this, but I haven’t been the best mama lately. When Hannah naps, I have Julia have her quiet time. But I know more than anything, she just really wants mama-time. Because of whatever reason, I’ve been holding on to that me-time a little too much. But last week, I started spending half the time with her, then half the time alone {cause we both still need our quiet times}. It’s been really good.
4. I’m reading The Help. Really, you’ve got to read it. And if you grew up in the South, I consider it mandatory.
5. I’m being more intentional with my house. I don’t really like spending an entire day cleaning. For the last two weeks, I’ve been cleaning just a little every day. Sure, things still get overlooked or not cleaned well enough, but surprisingly, my house has stayed in pretty good shape for pretty in such little work. Mama likes.
6. It’s hot. And I don’t like to do anything when I’m hot.
7. I’m getting the girls’ school work in order for the fall. I’m planning out their weeks from now until the end of October. Hoping to start school on August 1. Planning out 12 weeks of schoolwork {with printing out projects and assignments for Julia} is harder than I expected.
8. I’m getting more and more forgetful. And I come up with these fantastic post ideas but them forget them before I can even write them down. Don’t even ask how I’m doing with remembering what we need at the grocery store… oy vey.
9. I’m reading the Help. Ok, ok, I know I’ve mentioned this already. But seriously. So. Good. I haven’t read through a book this fast in a while. Just got it on Saturday and already over halfway finished.
10. Life just gets like this. And I find myself having too much fun making the girls homemade playdough, taking them to the dollar movie and enjoying just being a mama, to think about life outside of that.
What keeps you from blogging?
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
25 Weeks – Friday Joy
Posted on: July 22, 2011
- In: Life
- 15 Comments
Today marks 25 weeks of Baby Boy’s life. Amazing. In just a mere 15{ish} weeks, he will be here in all his infant cuteness.
Baby Boy has been quite active. And perhaps the old wives tale is proving true that boys sit lower, because Baby Boy’s kicks, punches, and moves are all quite a bit lower than his sisters’ ever were. Rarely does he make his way up into my rib cage area {unlike two other little ones I know}.
As each day passes, I get more and more excited about having Baby Boy here with us outside of my womb. He even already has his first outfit {a Nike sweatsuit… just guess who bought that} and the girls and I picked out a cute little touch and feel truck book at our library’s book sale. Before we know it, he’ll be here!
What is your Friday joy?
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
Our living room is set up in such a way that there is a great little space between our long sofa and love seat. Many a day, the girls have played back there. Jack, on occasion, has even taken to hiding from the girls resting there. But in the last couple of weeks, it’s seen little use. Which I find a little sad, because if I could comfortable fit, I’d be in that little nook all day.
This weekend I came across a cute {and easy} idea from Pinterest ::
On Monday, with the girls help, we created our own little reading nook ::
And least you think that the girls are quiet, non-messy readers, this was how their nook looked within the first 2 minutes ::
Have you ever made a reading nook? Or do you/your kids have a reading nook?
Visit Kristen at We Are THAT Family for more Works for Me Wednesday.
Movie Quotes – My Top Ten Favorite
Posted on: July 19, 2011
- In: Life
- 19 Comments
I love movies. Lots and lots. And once I fall in love with a movie, I tend to watch it several times {ok, probably more than that}. With that comes memorizing scenes and favorite quotes. Typically, my favorite quotes are random, and, depending on who you ask, I might over use them.
1. Not a finger! {A Christmas Story}
2. Matchy-matchy green squared! {Return to Me}
3. Miss you already! {The Bachelor – the movie not the show}
4. That’s shocking. {Elf}
5. Think, McFly. Think. {Back to the Future}
6. Just call me Joe. {You’ve Got Mail}
7. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. {Seinfeld – ok, so not a movie, but still a favorite quote}
8. Marriage is what brings us together today. {The Princess Bride}
9. I want to go to there. {30 Rock – again, not a movie, but again a favorite all the same}
10. So far, this is not blowing up my skirt. {True Lies}
What are your favorite movie quotes? I’m sure I have a slew more, but these are what came to me first.
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday.
- In: Life
- 5 Comments
Have you heard of Spotify? It’s an on demand music site, that allows you to search for the music you like and listen to the tracks you want. It’s like iTunes meets Pandora meets your best friend’s playlist. Until last week, Spotify was only available in the UK. Now they launched in the US.
You can request an invite for a free account {which limits how much music you can listen to}, or you can go ahead with a paid for an account {at $5 per month and allows unlimited music access}. Jonathan, being a huge music lover, immediately signed up for an unlimited account.
Currently our playlist has 290+ albums and nearly 4000 songs. 4000. That might seem like a crazy amount to you {as it does to me}, but Jonathan is like a kid in a candy store. He is thrilled {thrilled} to have nearly every artist, album, and song at his disposal. All weekend long, we searched artist after artist, song after song and have been playing Spotify none stop.
Even as a novice music lover, I’ll say Spotify is pretty spectacular. I have a love of old school songs – like what your grandma liked as a 20-something old school – that other sites and music stations have never quite hit the mark on. But Spotify? Spotify has fed my eclectic music love. And for that reason I’m in love.
Have you tested out Spotify? If you have a favorite, who’s your favorite band/artist?
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This post will be linked to Things I Love Thursday at Diaper Diaries.
- In: Life
- 11 Comments
Thanks to Jill, Amanda and Mary, I’ve been craving s’mores like it’s my job. In fact, I’ve even dreamed about them. Crazy, right? Even crazier is that I’ve gone week, literally weeks, without indulging in my cravings. Which in pregnancy world is perhaps the worst form of torture. So, this weekend, when all I could think about was getting my hands on a s’more, I knew it was time to take matters into my own hands.
I bought a small bag of Hershey bars, a box of graham cracker and some marshmallows. I decided to give s’more nachos a go, but didn’t have fudge on hand. I figured I could just melt the Hershey bars and get the same effect, but sadly, I was wrong. Still, a s’more is a s’more is a s’more and they were tasty {though not nearly as good as I’m sure they’d be had I followed the recipe}.
Then last night, after the girls were tucked into bed and my s’more loving was safe from little ones asking to share, I made myself some. As I was preparing my s’more goodness, I was struck with this thought:
“What if I added peanut butter?”
Now, I am a huge, huge peanut butter lover. And peanut butter with chocolate? Clearly a food combination giving to us by God {thank you Jesus!}. So I slathered on the peanut butter and got this:
I have to warn you, there is so much deliciousness squeezed between two little graham crackers that your mind might not know just how to process it all. If you’re like me, you may just sit in utter wonder at what you have just experienced {though some of that might have to do with a quiet house and a good book…}.
Have you ever tried peanut butter s’mores?
Visit Alicia at Alicia’s Homemaking for more Try New Adventures Thursday
- In: Life
- 16 Comments
I’ve joked that if given the chance, the girls would permanently attach themselves to me. From the moment they wake up, to the moment they go to bed, they are constantly touching me. A pat on my arm to get my attention. A sweet hug to show their love. Or my personal favorite, sticking their hands up my shorts/skirt while I’m cooking. Actually, that last one drives me a little batty.
While I’ve always said touch is one of my love languages, I think 3.5 years into motherhood might be proving that wrong. {My love language now is extra sleep.} Now before you think I don’t like loving on my girls, please know that I do. Very, very much. I could hug, snuggle, kiss on them all day and be perfectly happy. But {and that’s a very big but}, there are different touches that can make me start to unravel, in a mama’s-losing-it sorta way.
Like clinging to my feet while I’m trying to clean {Hannah literally clings to my feet, forcing me to drag her around with me}.
Or, patting my arm while repeatedly saying “mama, mama, mama, mama, mama”.
Or, in a moment of sibling rivalry, deciding who can sit the closest to me while we’re reading {normally resulting in jumping on me}.
There are several more, but frankly, they are a bit TMI {if you’re a mom, or married, use your imagination… yeah}.
So, from 6 am to 8 pm, there is a whole lotta touching going on. And really, after the fourteenth time of having a little hand go up my shorts, I have to draw a boundary. Rather than waiting till I’ve hit my touch limit for the day, I schedule out personal “no talk, no touch” times throughout the day. One normally after we’ve had breakfast and sent Jonathan off for the day. Then one during Hannah’s nap and Julia’s quiet time. And then a final one in the late afternoon or early evening. It might sound harsh to some of you, but I need my “no talk, no touch” time.
I set the timer for 10-20 minutes {it’s usually longest in the morning so I can have my quiet time} and the girls know that they can’t talk or touch me until the timer goes off. Once the timer rings, we are all back in the game, with little hands everywhere. And by then, I’ve had enough “no touching” to be ready for the next round. There are times when the touching starts to drive me crazy between the “no talk, no touch” times. But rather than flat out telling them to stop touching me, I ask them nicely to only do it once. Or in the case of who-can-sit-closest-to-mama, I tell them I can read two stories – one story with my arm around one girl, and another story with my arm around the other girl.
Do you have touchy children? How do you handle too much touchiness?
Top Ten Things I Love on Pinterest
Posted on: July 12, 2011
- In: Life
- 18 Comments
Have you heard of Pinterest? Pinterest’s tagline is “a place to catalog the things you love”. And that, my friends, is exactly what it is.
Pinterest is set up so that you have different boards, where you pin things you love. Think of it as a cork board, where you “pin up” ideas, recipes, crafts, whatever you fancy, so you can refer to it later. It’s purely ingenious. Oh how I love Pinterest so. Especially the recipes… I could drool for hours.
Here are my top ten favorite pins:
1. S’more Nachos
2. The Babe with the Power Onesie – a great throwback to Labyrinth and totally something Baby Boy needs.
3. Not By Coffee Alone – my personal mantra
4. Pillowcase storage – I so need to do this to my linen closet
5. Wrap made from one square yard – Talk about easy and adorable
6. Easy eggs for Egg McMuffins
7. Melting Snowman Cookies – Ok, I know we are no where near Christmas, but c’mon, this is fantastic
8. Homemade Liquid Soap from Bar Soap
9. Head Scarf Tie – I did this yesterday and it was really adorable!
10. Nutella Cookies – ‘Nuf said
Are you on Pinterest? If so, do you love it or what?! If not, join. Now!
Visit Amanda at Oh Amanda for more Top Ten Tuesday
Will be linked to Jill at Diaper Diaries for Things I Love Thursday
A Wife Loved Like The Church 
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