2008 May

May 29, 2008

Book Giveaway: Midlife Manual for Men

Time for another new book from Bethany House — this time, one that you might want to win for the man in your life. But before I jump into that, let me announce the winner for last week’s book, Road to Nowhere. The winner is:

Melsy626
Congrats!

Now for this week’s book. If it sounds like a book you’d like and you want to be eligible to win it, just leave a comment on this post and I’ll put your name in the virtual hat. I’ll leave the post open for comments until the following Wednesday at noon. I’ll then randomly pick a commenter and announce that person as the winner when I put up the next giveaway. Please make sure that when you leave a comment, you include an email address so I can contact you easily. Also, I apologize to any international readers, but these giveaways are limited to readers in the U.S. or Canada.

Midlife Manual for Men
by Stephen Arterburn & John Shore

A fresh and funny–yet utterly serious–book about men and midlife, from the bestselling author of the EVERY MAN’S BATTLE series, Stephen Arterburn. Written for every man who is in or near midlife, it examines five roles men inhabit throughout their lives–that of He-Man, Son, Husband, Provider, and Father–and shows how God uses those roles to build the qualities that make a truly good man. This practical and encouraging book gives men the tools to make the rest of their lives matter.

The authors, both in midlife, speak men’s language. They’re straightforward, not sugarcoating the issues of aging, fear of death, and feelings of loss or failure. They offer hope and show readers how they can live God-honoring, significant lives. This is a book that pastors will want their men’s ministries to read, accountability groups will discuss, and wives will buy for their husbands.

Endorsements

“Vulnerable, hugely personal, unconventional, funny, engaging, provocative, unvarnished, sometimes raw, Steve Arterburn gets behind the eyelids and under the skin of men in midlife. Trust me, you won’t lose interest.”
–Bob Buford, Author of Halftime and Finishing Well

“Every page of this book spoke directly to me. I laughed out loud, while at other times got really, really quiet and reflective. Since reading this book I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s helpful, practical, challenging, and worth your time.”
–Jim Burns, PhD, President, HomeWord. Author of Creating and Intimate Marriage and Confident Parenting

“What a timely book! Every man in midlife need to read this manual. It’s vulnerable, practical, and biblical. Best of all it will show you how the best is yet to come!”
–Les Parrot, PhD, Founder of RealRelationships.com, Author of Your Time-Starved Marriage

To read an excerpt from Midlife Manual for Men, just click HERE.

Filed Under: Book giveaways 11 Comments

May 28, 2008

Seven Things I’ve Been Up To

written by katrina · 15 Comments

Sheila recently tagged me for a “seven things about me” meme. And I’m overdue for a post about why I’ve disappeared. More than one person has emailed me, wondering if I dropped off the face of the earth. I didn’t, but I have been a little busy.

SO… I’m cheating slightly on the meme and combining the two things into one blog post. And, I’m including a bunch of pictures, just because I feel like it.

Seven Things I’ve Been Doing Recently, Since I Obviously Haven’t Been Blogging

1. Painting. Our basement is thisclose to being finished (finally!), so I spent a good chunk of the Memorial Day weekend painting. There was the new wall (surrounding the new window), and random other parts of the room, all in need of two coats of paint. I took advantage of every naptime and every evening to get to work with brushes, rollers, and dropcloths.

2. Filling nail holes. Yes, I’m showing you a picture of our baseboards. That’s because I also spent hours last weekend filling a million little tiny nail holes with wood filler putty stuff. Theoretically, I’m now supposed to paint over the wood filler, but I’m tired of painting, so that may not happen any time soon. Besides white trim + white wood filer = no painting urgency.

3. Annoying the local Mommy Robin. This is our front door:

The circled shrub has been claimed as “Home” by a Mommy Robin, who then proceeded to deposit four pretty eggs in a nest therein.

She gets highly agitated every time someone walks past her home. You’d think she would have scoped out the place before building her nest, and would have noticed the traffic patterns. Her realtor should have reminded her: It’s a front door. Where people regularly go in and out. There will not be much privacy for you and your eggs.

But I guess the realtor dropped the ball.

Mommy Robin is not pleased when the front door opens, and I’m just waiting for the day when she decides to peck my eyes out instead of merely flying to a nearby tree while shrieking at me.

4. Memorizing the words to They Might be Giants’ CD, Here Come the ABC’s. Not on purpose, mind you. But just because it’s L.’s current favorite and is on all the time. I wake up singing Go, Go, Go, Go For G or E Eats Everything.

5. Playing Wii Fit. Chad is the master of the ski jump, but no one can beat me at the hula hoop or aerobic step segments. We’re definitely enjoying this new game, even though it’s a tad bit too honest at times. It likes to say things like, “It seems like that activity is not your forte” or “If you lost some weight and strengthened your core, you’d have better balance.” We just ignore the insults and have fun mastering the activities.

6. Missing Chad & C.. They had the opportunity to go to the Indy 500 over Memorial Day weekend. L. and I hung out at home while they got sunburned and watched really fast cars.

7. Celebrating L.’s 2nd Birthday. Happy Birthday, L.!

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff, Family, Purely Random 15 Comments

May 22, 2008

Book Giveaway: Road to Nowhere

written by katrina · 20 Comments

It’s Thursday again already, and I have a new novel from Bethany House here for one of you to win. But first, let me announce the winner for last week’s book, Deeper. The winner is:

Bebemiqui

Congrats!

Road to Nowhere
by Paul Robertson

A Simple Vote Could Mean Deadly Consequences

There’s no trouble like a road…

In all the years Joe Esterhouse has served on the board of supervisors for Wardsville, North Carolina, never has a single piece of paper caused so much trouble. But after he reads it aloud at a meeting, this quiet little community will nearly be torn apart.

It’s a simple invitation to complete the long-delayed Gold River Highway project but behind it are the reek of corruption and the shadow of something even more dangerous. With millions at stake in land and development deals—and millions to be lost for those in the road’s way—everyone has something at stake.

As neighbor turns on neighbor, the weight of the decision falls on the members of the Wardsville board. Their vote will determine the fate of the project and the future of the town. But when someone may have gone as far as cold-blooded murder, is anyone safe?

To read an excerpt from Road to Nowhere, just click HERE.
And read reviews at Amazon.com by clicking HERE.

Filed Under: Book giveaways 20 Comments

May 20, 2008

Creepy

written by katrina · 22 Comments

I’m taking advantage of Lisa’s open tag (Lisa, in turn, found this meme at Elle’s, who found it at Toddled Dredge). The basic idea is to make a list of things that creep you out. And since all three of those ladies listed five items, I’ll do the same.

I give you…

Five Things That Creep Me Out

1. The use of toes for pinching other people. Toes are not for pinching.

2. Things near my eyes. It’s true that I wear glasses because I am near-sighted. But they also come in handy as protective devices, preventing people and things from getting too close to my eyes. I’ve been known to yelp or pass out at the eye doctor’s during the glaucoma test, when the little green light is moving closer and closer and closer to my eye. I shudder just thinking about it.

3. Any movie or TV show that portrays a dangerous water situation and makes me feel like I’m right there with them. As soon as the water starts splashing up the screen, I stop breathing. I’m fairly certain I could drown while sitting, secure and dry, on my couch. Scary water scenes creep me out.

4. Clowns. In books, in movies, in circuses, in the form of porcelain figurines or stuffed toys. I just don’t like ‘em.

5. Things coming out of noses that should not come out of noses. Or stories about such experiences. I understand that snot is normal, and as a mom, I’ve had plenty of experience wiping it. Not pleasant, but normal. However, I’ve seen videos of babies who seem to have inhaled a piece of spaghetti. I’ve heard stories of someone eating a LifeSaver, accidentally sucking it up into their sinuses and having it exit through their nose. These things are not normal, and they make me very uncomfortable.

What creeps you out? If you do this meme, let me know so I can come read your answers.

Filed Under: Bloggy Stuff, Purely Random 22 Comments

May 19, 2008

IKEA

written by katrina · 15 Comments

Some of you may know that we are ~~eternally~~ in the process of finishing half our basement. I ~~desperately hope~~ believe that someday soon it will actually be done, and at that time, we’ll want to furnish it. Well, I guess the kids don’t care if it’s furnished — they’d be just as happy to have a big empty room to run, jump, and play in. But Chad and I would like to have a few chairs, shelving for books and games, and some toy storage. The reason: We both like to sit, read, and play games. And Chad gets twitchy when toys are not properly contained.

We took the kids to IKEA Saturday night, looking for some furniture options. I know some people look with disdain upon IKEA, and others tolerate it but would never choose to own IKEA furniture. But in our case, it’s a good idea. Affordable furniture that’s high on storage and organization, but low on the “Don’t let the kids touch the furniture!” factor.

Five reasons why I like IKEA:

1. Their furniture is very inexpensive compared to the other options, yet highly functional and unique. Especially if you’re looking for something like bookshelves (and I’m always looking for more bookshelves, it seems), IKEA has a ton of options, all reasonably priced. I couldn’t furnish my entire house from IKEA because my taste runs a little more to the traditional, but for certain rooms or situations, their stuff is perfect.

2. Their stores are laid out along a nifty, winding path that takes you from one staged “room” to another, each one chock full of storage solutions, practical furniture, and pieces that make you think, “Hm. Now that chair is interesting, but definitely not for me.” I love wandering through IKEA, checking everything out.

3. Their Market Hall section has about a million little housewares items that you didn’t know you needed until you saw them. Unique cheese graters, funky canisters, brightly-colored scrub brushes that might actually help you like cleaning. Ok, forget that, but they’d still be more fun to scrub with than something gray and dreary.

4. I am stodgy and stylistically boring and have no decorating ability. Yet when I’m in IKEA, I feel all hip and modern. Maybe it’s something they pump through the air vents, some kind of attitude-altering inhalant.

5. I am highly amused by the Sleeping Husband Displays. Well, to be honest, they are not official displays set up by IKEA, but nevertheless, around every corner, you might come across another husband sleeping in a functional yet funky-looking chair. Last night, I spotted at least five. I assume there were five respective Shopping Wives who were taking far too long. The poor husbands had had enough and decided to camp out in a Poang or a Karlstad. And the lullaby-like sounds of noisy shoppers and shrieking children helped them drift right off to sleep.

Are you an IKEA-disdainer or an IKEA-lover or somewhere in between?

Filed Under: Home stuff 15 Comments