I picked this book out as I thought it would be a fun book and I needed some laughs. I got them!! While I’ve never heard Rick or Bubba on the radio as I don’t live in that area, they have warmed my heart. There’s one chapter in this book that had me laughing so hard I actually woke up my husband who was sleeping soundly beside me.

Now, having said that, I’m a therapist and would be remiss not to mention that this is NOT a book for marriage counseling. It is not that in-depth, but I don’t think it was intended for that purpose. Don’t get me wrong, it has some good advice and may help some couples, but hard-core marital issues will probably not be resolved by reading this book.

Rick and Bubba seem to have a lot of fun writing the book. Since it is written by 2 guys with a few inserts from their wives, it is predominately focused on the guy’s perspective. Most of it is light-hearted and fun, but one chapter in particular deals with the death of Rick’s youngest son when he was 2 1/2 yrs old. Heartbreaking. Yet it shows how they struggled together as a couple to come through that seemingly unbearable experience and their marriage is stronger than ever.

Full disclosure: I got this book complimentary from the Book Sneeze program through Thomas Nelson. I was not required to write a positive review or in any other way compensated.

I then shall live.
As one whose been forgiven.
I'll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.
I know my name is clear before my father.
I am his child and I am not afraid.
So greatly pardoned I'll forgive my brother
The Law of love I gladly will obey

I then shall live
as one whose learned compassion.
I've been so loved
That I'll risk loving too.
I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges
I'll dare to see anothers point of view
And when relationships demand commitment
Then I'll be there to care and follow through.

Your kingdom come around and through and in me
your power and glory,let them shine through me
Your hallowed name,oh may i bear with honor
And may your living kingdom come in me
THE BREAD OF LIFE! oh May I share with honor
And may you feed a hungry world through me

AMEN(3x)

Gaither Vocal Band

I’m a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger and chose this book for my first review. I love ice skating and have loved watching Scott Hamilton skate for years, so I was really excited to see that I could choose a book that he has written and was anxious to dig in and read!

In the book, Scott tells of the challenges he faced as a child and and as an adult and how he has remained to be happy even though his circumstances haven’t always been ideal. Though he was a very sickly child, Scott tells how ice skating helped him build his confidence and helped his health in a miraculous way. He learned discipline through his training partly by skating figure 8′s over and over as this builds the foundational skills for ice skaters. The  practicing of this technique is what he attributes to winning his olympic gold metal as well as the basis for the title of his book.

He also describes his challenges as an adult with being terminated from Ice Capades and getting cancer. Though he has faced several life-altering challenges, he has remained positive and describes 8 ways in which he maintains his superior attitude. He gives examples how he has applied these techniques throughout his own life as well as using examples from other skaters.

Though I highly respect Scott Hamilton and all he has been through, I thought this book was a bit superficial. I believe the book seems to be marketed as a self-help book and I would NOT recommend it as such. I’m glad his strategies of remaining positive and smiling even though the circumstances may be difficult work for him, but it seems like he tends to gloss over and simplify many of the events as well as how he managed each of them. The exception to this is his how he dealt with IMG (sports management company). He does go into detail about confrontation and how he worked out the relationship with Bob Kain.

For me, what I thought would be an exciting book that I was really looking forward to, turned out to be a book in which I was disappointed and won’t be recommending very often.

For more information on the book check out the Thomas Nelson website:

http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/product_detail.asp?sku=0785228942

Have you heard of Swag Bucks? I would love to introduce you. Swagbucks.com is a search engine much like google.com only better! If you use this site  as your search engine, you’ll earn swagbucks and you can redeem them for gift certificates and other items. Actually, they really have a variety of prizes you can get. How cool is that??! It really is legitimate.

I’ve researched and there is no magic formula as to how to earn the bucks. Just search as you normally would google. Typically, I’ve found that you only earn ‘bucks’ once per day (though that may be different for some). On Fridays, there is a chance that you can earn more. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

If you want to help me out, you can sign up through me by clicking here.

Go check them out! It’s kind of fun!!

I got all of this…

for $105.92!! And, I have $50 Gymbucks to use (when I spend another $100, I’ll get $50 off)! No, it’s not free, but it’s an amazing deal to me for that many high-quality, cute, non-frumpy clothes.

Let’s do some math…If I had paid regular price for all of it, it would have been $219.74. OUCH! Just so you know, that would not have happened! Most of it was on sale. If I had just bought it on sale, it would have been $149.88. Still, that price makes me edgy. I had a 20% off total purchase coupon in addition to the sale prices and woola! (According to my math, there’s a $10 discrepency there that the cashier and I tried for 20 minutes to figure out to no avail.) Now, I’ll admit, the total was a bit lower than that originally, but knowing that if I added just a couple more items, I’d get $50 Gymbucks rather than $25 off $50 purchase, it was a much better deal for me to add a little to get over the $100 mark to get the $50 Gymbucks instead. So, I paid full price for 2 items to get there. (That’ll teach me to not have my calculator along!!) I don’t consider $105 for 14 items all that shabby though.

When he’s outgrown them, I may try to sell them on Ebay or Craigslist. I’ve never tried this adventure, but I’ve heard that Gymboree clothes sell really well. If you notice, I get outfits that coordinate on purpose. First, I like a put-together look. Also, I’ve heard that it sells better, so why not?! I’ll give it a whirl and keep you posted!!

Has anyone else tried Gymbucks or tried to sell their Gymboree items? How about other brands that sell well? Any tips? I’ve heard that Janie & Jack (another division of Gymboree) sells well also and I LOVE their clothes too!!

What is it about the smell of fresh bread that gets my taste buds doing the happy dance? I LOVE the stuff!! The smell as it bakes, the warmth it gives as it comes out of the oven, the lovely golden color and the melted butter on top. YUM!

The only problem with it is that I have a difficult time kneading it and it’s rather time consuming to make it from scratch. (Sorry, bread out of a plastic bag from a store just doesn’t excite my taste buds. Too boring!) Well, I made a discovery the other day that everyone else probably already knows. It’s the ‘dough cycle’ on my bread machine. I have had a bread machine for many years and frankly, I didn’t get along with it very well. The loaves are a weird shape, the smell it produces while it bakes just isn’t quite right (I was using bread machine dough from a box) and though it tasted ‘ok’, it just wasn’t producing the results that I want. Until…

I read about a person making buns with her bread machine. Hmm…how did that work as I’m thinking they would come out looking a bit squarish if she baked them in the machine. (Obviously, I didn’t read the entire manual when I purchased my machine or thought it would be too complicated to do just dough. I mean, why wouldn’t you have the machine do all the work?!) Well, she used the ‘dough cycle’ and took the dough out when the machine was done on that cycle, shaped the buns and baked them in her oven. (Insert ‘light bulb moment’ for Lana!!)

I’ve heard that you have to be very precise in the measurements of the ingredients for a bread machine or it doesn’t come out right which also added to my trepidation of using the machine to it’s full capacity, but thought I’d get brave and give it a try. I brought up the machine from our basement, dusted it off (ok, more of a deep clean as it had been down there quite a while) and followed the recipe. It WORKED! I had some of the best buns I’ve ever made. (Admittedly, that is not saying a lot as I rarely make buns!!! But, they were really good!) I was so excited that the next day I made breadsticks. They turned out great too!! I got so excited that I made calzones for dinner that night and Greg said that they were the best I had ever made–um, a bit of honesty, those are the ONLY ones I’ve ever made!! But, they were good!!

The next day (I’m on a roll here people!!) I told my friend/neighbor about my new discover and she gave me a bunch of bread machine mixes she had as she doesn’t have a bread machine. I thought I’d do the neighborly thing and make one up for her. I put all the ingredients in the machine and pushed the button. Ten minutes later I went to check on it and the it wasn’t mixing. Hmm…as I looked on the counter I realized that I forgot to put the blade in the machine. DOUGH! I mean, DUH!! Let’s just say it didn’t work too well!! I did try to insert it and see what would happen, but it wasn’t pretty!!

If you have a bread machine, dust it off and give it another whirl! It’s quite fun and doesn’t take much time. You too can have warm bread!! Just don’t forget to insert the blade!!

Yes, I have been slammed, questioned and judged for daring to spend time away from my son. It’s ok. I think more people need to take time away. I am very fortunate that I have people around me that I trust to take care of my son. Because of the breaks, my home is more peaceful. I’m not so stressed (I can tell when I haven’t had a break as I get VERY stressed and feel more on edge.) I’ve also been around moms who haven’t had a break. The tension seems higher, yelling is more frequent, and frankly, I don’t like to be around them.

My breaks are pretty scheduled twice a week. I’m very fortunate in that regard. I have 2 chronic illnesses, so Greg and I knew that I would need extra help before I even got pregnant. Not all moms need breaks as frequent or as long. Even 30 minutes after a long day can be a lifesaver.

We have also found that Greg and I need time away from R together. It builds our marriage. We admittedly don’t go on “date night” near as frequently as we should, but when we do, we love it! We need a strong marriage in order to have a strong foundation for R. Sometimes we need to do activities that aren’t child focused.

How to get a break? We have a babysitter twice a week where R goes to her house so I can sleep or get things done at home. Sometimes Greg takes R when possible. I’ve also heard of babysitting coops where moms trade-off babysitting. My parents are always happy to help out, though this is a little more challenging since they live 200 miles away.

If you haven’t had a break lately or find yourself stressing out, take a break! You may find that your outlook changes and life becomes more peaceful!

We flew out on Fri from Mpls/St. Paul and flew Midwest. I knew it was going to be a GREAT vacation because Midwest serves fresh chocolate chip cookies (still warm from the oven). IMO, if all airlines did this, they wouldn’t need to worry about bankruptcy! But then, IMO that’s all it would take for world peace, so ya know…

We arrived in Nashville about a half hour later than expected, so we drove to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. I just have to say, I have stayed in quite a few hotels, but this was the biggest hotel I have ever seen and it was BEAUTIFUL! Nine acres of indoor gardens. There were waterfalls, ponds with koi fish that were big enough to eat! I was seriously fearful that if Greg left me alone without a cell phone that I’d be lost for the rest of the wkend. Smitty mentioned that for all the times he had been at this hotel, this is the first time he didn’t get lost. I can see why! Oh, did I mention that they have a Godiva (chocolate) store in the middle of the hotel?!

Here’s a few pics of the hotel that really don’t do it justice, but it’s my feeble attempt at showing the beauty of the gardens, etc.

Outside of the Gaylord Opryland Resort

One of the many waterfalls at Opryland Resort

Did I mention that there's a riverboat that runs through the hotel that you can ride on?!

One of at least 3 gazebos. This one is covered in magnolias.

We went and completed the registration for the hotel and the Michael W Smith wkend and unloaded our bags after hunting down our room. We then got ready and boarded a bus to the Grand Ole Opry which was about 3 blks away from the hotel. I didn’t know much about the Grand Old Opry before we got there. I’m not into country music for the most part and was a bit disappointed that we’d have to sit through quite a few other entertainers prior to seeing Smitty, but it went ok. The Grand Old Opry is a 2 hr live radio show and they have different performers every half hour. They also have live commercials, which is a bit unusual since you actually pay for the tickets to see it, but whatever…My opinion of it is that some of these entertainers should have retired about 20 yrs ago. But, like I said, I’m not a country music fan per say, so my opinion probably is a bit skewed. Anyway, it was Smitty’s debute at the Grand Ole Opry and that was very cool. He sang “Friends,” “There She Stands,” and “America the Beautiful”. He did an awesome job.

Then, we went back to the hotel for a Valentine’s Dance and reception which involved chocolate cheesecake, coffee, and various other desserts–YUM! There was a movie screening of “C2″ afterward, but Greg and I were exhausted and went to bed instead.

Sat morning there was a devotional by John and Beverly Shaesby at 8a. Unfortunately, Greg and I were exhausted, so we didn’t make it to that. Afterward, Bob Nelson (comedian) and Matthew West (Christian recording artist) gave a performance which Greg and I attended. Matthew West is AWESOME and funny. There was an autograph signing afterward by Smitty, Matthew West, and Barbara Smith (Smitty’s mom, who has done 2 wonderful cookbooks). Greg and I got Smitty and Barbara’s autograph. Also, we toured Smitty’s tour bus (luxury on wheels). See my previous post for photos.

Afterward, we saw a prescreening of the video to “A New Hallelujah” the new DVD Smitty has out. The video will be coming out in March. If you don’t have the CD yet, GO BUY IT! It is AWESOME! The video is also amazing as it’s live from Houston and he has the African Children’s Choir helping him out as well as Israel. The taping of this was what Barbara said was one of her favorite times in Smitty’s career. It’s powerful!

That afternoon there were break-out sessions with Barbara Smith (“Cookin’ with Smitty’s Mom”) in which she gave cooking tips (she used to be a professional caterer) and answered all sorts of questions regarding cooking as well as what it’s like to have Smitty as a son, etc. The lady has the gift of hospitality like I have never seen. She made Valentine cookies for everyone there (over 500). They were all decorated and packaged individually. And, they were very tasty!

There was a break-out session with the Shaesby’s also, but Greg and I didn’t attend. We needed a break and I needed to check on our son and make sure our house was still standing, etc.

That evening there was a VIP reception with Smitty in which we got our pics taken–see previous post. they played a video of “Change Your World” (an album Smitty made in the 80′s) and we all had a good laugh. During the reception we met some people from New Jersey that we really connected with and will hopefully stay in contact. Part of the goal for the wkend was for people to meet each other and there were plenty of opportunities to do so. People were there from Spain, Brazil, London, Canada and all over the US. Though it was a smaller group of people than Smitty’s concerts and cruises, there is no way we could have met everyone, but it was easier to make connections to other people.

After the VIP reception was the Valentine’s dinner and concert (the main concert of the wkend). We connected with more people at our table during dinner and of course, the concert was amazing. As usual, Smitty went off his song list and just lets God lead the way. (I have to insert that it is humorous to watch the rest of his band members when he does this as they don’t know what he’s going to do, so they don’t know what instruments to grab for the next song and at one point the drummer didn’t know what kind of beat in which to start the song). Also, a Singing Sergeant that sang at Reagan’s funeral, Bush’s inauguration, etc., sang “The Star-Spangled Banner.” (pitch-perfect, accopella) It was beautiful!

After the concert, there were games like Smingo (Smitty Bingo) with prizes of some of his gold records, gift certificates to the souvenier table, etc., Wii played on the movie screen, etc. We stayed for a little bit, but eventually the fatigue hit and we went to bed.

Sun morning was church. Smitty led worship (he is seriously gifted in that area). John Shaesby preached and Smitty gave the final closing of thank-you’s and the wrap-up. We said “good-bye” to the friends we had made and that was the end of that part of the wkend.

There are two things I would have changed about that part of the weekend. First, we stood in line forever to get Smitty’s autograph and though others got their pic with him at that point, we couldn’t because they were running short on time. Fortunately, we were VIP’s so we got his pic at the VIP reception, but even there we had about 15-20 seconds to get our picture snapped. There was absolutely no time to say, “Hi” or introduce ourselves or anything. I barely got a “Thank-you” in there and even then the staff seemed irritated at that. I wish they had planned a bit more time for a few more seconds of interaction since they knew how many people were attending the wkend. Just my 2 cents.

Since our flight didn’t leave until Mon, we had all afternoon to explore Nashville, so we went to the Country Music Walk of Fame and found Smitty’s star along Steven Curtis Chapman and a bunch of other’s. I collect Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts, so we went and got a few items there and walked around Nashville for a bit. Then, drove down to Franklin, just south of Nashville. We saw the church that Smitty started and attends and stopped at Kroger’s. (Long story, but I’ve heard a lot about Kroger’s and had to see it for myself! I actually met another couponer there!!) We also stopped downtown historic Franklin which is beautiful! It was a bit chilly, so we stopped at Starbuck’s for a cup of joe! Did I mention that they have Ben & Jerry’s there also? Their Cinnamon bun ice cream is da bomb!

Country Music Walk of Fame

Then, we made a quick stop at the mall only to find out that their mall is owned by the same company as Burnsville Center. There were a lot of the same stores that we have in MN.

That was about it. We went to dinner and walked around our resort for a while through the gardens. We had a very early morning flight out of Nashville the next morning, so we turned in early that night. That was pretty much the end of our vacation. However, we have vowed that we will go back to Nashville and have even considered flights back already. We have considered moving there as though it was cool there, it was nothing like MN in terms of cold and snow. Moving probably won’t be in our immediate future, but it is definitely a possibility.

If you haven’t been to TN, try it out. We loved it! If you haven’t been to a Smitty concert, book some tickets!! He’s touring with Steven Curtis Chapman right now and that would be an awesome experience. If Smitty has a Valentine celebration next year or something similar, I’d definitely recommend it.

Here’s a video of the wkend from Smitty’s staff that you can check out also. http://www.youtube.com/michaelwsmithtv

Greg and I with Smitty

There aren’t many public figures that I have followed throughout my life. It’s just not my thang! Having said that, there is one person that I have respected and followed since junior high. Michael W. Smith (Smitty). I remember mowing the lawn and singing to his music on my Walkman (yeah, I’m showing my age!). I’ve played his music on piano, sang his songs in church and school, and every time anyone left our area (even to go home for the night), “Friends” was played!

I have to say that as I watch Smitty’s career, I stand in awe of how God has used him and how his music has changed. In the 80′s he hired some of Madonna’s choreographers to help him with his videos and now he basically stays behind his piano or guitar. More recently his music has been focused on worship and there is nothing like being in a worship service with Smitty leading it. God shows up every time. He has songs planned in advance, but he rarely sticks to his original plan, but rather let’s God lead the way. (You can do that when you play by ear rather than having music in front of you.)

One of my traditions has been to go to his Christmas concert every year and every year I come out amazed at the talent God has given him, amazed at how God shows up every time, and amazed that after all the publicity, Smitty still seems so humble and gives God all the glory. It’s so unusual these days to find a role model who is consistently focused on the cross, love, relationships, and community. When you read the many articles about him, he’s one of the few people you don’t find any negative reviews about, but rather you find a person who has contributed much in his community and the world.

Greg and I went to Michael W. Smith’s Valentine’s Weekend in Nashville, TN this past weekend. As expected, it was awesome. We saw his debut at the Grand Ole Opry as well as more concerts by Smitty and Michael West. Very fun! What a blessing to be able to meet a public figure who has impacted my life so much. Though there wasn’t much time to have any discussions or anything with him, but between photos I was able to say, “Thank-you, you’ve touched my life”.

Here are some photos from the weekend.

Smitty!

Smitty's Mom. She's written 2 wonderful cookbooks.

Smitty's bus--luxury on wheels!

Driving the tour bus!

Greg lying in one of the bunks in the tour bus