Question on the radio today…
Five out of six Canadians under the age of 18 have never used ____________.
Have fun guessing! I’ll let you know the correct answer tomorrow. If you guess correctly, I’m sure I’ll have to send you a prize of some sort. 
Do You Know?
Loot Bag Winners
I have to be honest – drawing names had to be one of the hardest things I’ve done in a long time! I would think, “Oh, I really hope she wins because she is a new reader,” or “Clearly she is in love with this book, so I hope she wins it.” Frankly, it stinks to have a limited number of prizes. I wish I could be like Oprah (not that I’m endorsing her, ahem) and tell you all that there is a fantastic gift waiting for you under your seat!
At the risk of sounding trite, I would like to remind you all that you do have a gift to open each and every day, and that’s the Word of God. (I know, there is no way that it doesn’t come across as a cliche, but seriously! His Word never returns void!) I just spontaneously asked God if He had a treasure He’d like me to share with you today, and one of my memory verses from last year popped into my head:
Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. ~Psalm 37:4-5, (emphasis mine)
And now, the winners of additional prizes…
#1 – Two copies of Lysa TerKeurst’s Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl
Bobbie from 40 Shades of Pink
#2 – $29.39 gift card for Chapters/Indigo/Coles
Shauna of Shutterbugg Mom – That’s Me!
#3 – One copy of Beth Moore’s So Long, Insecurity: you’ve been a bad friend to us
Heather from the land of no blogs
#4 – An original photocard of your choice created by Danielle of Danielle Designs, in digital file
Jenny at/of The Wagner Family
If you are a winner, you will be getting an email from me asking for your mailing address and/or gathering other necessary details to get your loot bag into your hands. Thanks again for reading, encouraging, and playing!
I have a couple interesting observations/comments about this whole process…
First, you girls are too much fun! I must thank my mom for getting everyone off to a great start by commenting on the party post repeatedly – totally in the spirit I was looking for. Ironically, she did not win a single thing! LOL!
Those who don’t know me personally might not know this, but the first three winners are all people that I know personally. I realize that makes the whole drawing process sound fishy, but I promise you there was no fishy-ness involved whatsoever!
Was anyone wondering about the odd amount of the gift card ($29.39)? I will proudly confess to re-gifting. There was a book purchased that was later returned without a receipt, and the poor little cash card has been sitting around just waiting for someone to love it. Since I seldom go to the physical store to buy books anymore, I figured someone else should have it. As well, Lysa’s two books were mailed to me by Proverbs 31 Ministries as a promotional tool for women’s ministry – re-gift. And though I had planned to buy someone a photocard created by Danielle, she offered to do it gratis! Does it get any easier to give stuff away?!
A few people managed to get their names entered four or five times, yet two of the winners only entered their names ONCE! I guess the whole theory of increasing your odds doesn’t apply when you’re drawing names from a hat child’s plastic drinking cup.
One last thing… It really is better to give than to receive. I mean, I am beyond excited to get these prizes sent out to the winners! Each name I pulled gave me a little thrill for that person. Total fun!
Okay, I lied – just one more thing. But good golly! Does anyone remember me saying that one of the potential prizes would be a copy of my first public talk on Mommy Why Are You Angry? Yeah, I forgot, too. Obviously. Remind me of this a week or two down the road, and I’ll see if I can’t find an occasion for another giveaway.
I’m Throwing a Party, and It Just Wouldn’t be the Same without YOU!
Without so much as a nod of my head, I wrote and posted my 500th post in this little internet space. I am disappointed that I allowed a special moment (to me, anyway) slip by without fanfare. But, given that I seem to run a couple days behind my blog plans on a regular basis (birthday posts, The God Chronicles*), I have decided to hold a celebration.
So on Monday, in honour of you – the rockin‘ few who keep on reading my babblings – there will be a par-tay!
There will be a few “best of” posts going up; there will be some long-overdue awards handed out; and there will be prizes! You are welcome to bring your own coffee and snacks. 
Clearly, I don’t have 500 things to give away (oh, but I wish I did – wouldn’t that be fun with a capital F?!). How about 1 prize for every 100 posts? Count ‘em – 1-2-3-4-5 things for you to win. Just for F-U-N! Prizes may include Lysa TerKeurst’s latest book (two copies), “Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl,” a CD of my first (and so far, only) talk on mother anger, a gift card for Coles/Chapters/Indigo, and a few other things I’ll think of over the weekend.
Therefore, you are cordially invited to attend my 500 post par-tay on Monday, February 22. Come prepared to visit too long, drink too much coffee, laugh (or cry) too hard, and win too many prizes.
* Regarding The God Chronicles… I have decided to give this blog carnival its wings and let it fly away. (Yeah, I’m not so great with the metaphor.) I think it’s fair to say that my carnival suffered from chronic lack of participation. Don’t worry – I’m getting over it. It just no longer seems reasonable to host TGC as a carnival, given that my heart breaks each month when no one links up. (I said “getting” over it, not “gotten” over it, okay?) I will still post the God sightings in my life under the tag for TGC, and you are always welcome to join in by posting your own TGC and putting your link in the comments. But it will no longer be a regularly scheduled event (no longer, ha, it hasn’t been since October) on this here blog. For those who did participate in TGC this past year – THANK-YOU!!! I love you all just a little bit more than my other readers. Kidding. Sort of.
Questions
I am fully uninspired this morning. I have been up between 6-12 times per night for the past 4 nights, and I am plumb tuckered out! So I decided the best thing I could do (for you and for me) is to pose a few questions that I wonder about. I would be just tickled if you took the time to answer.
1. Am I the only one who still has my Christmas tree and decorations out?
I have thought to myself daily since December 30th, “Self, you should really get that tree down and all the decorations put away.” But the lazy in me keeps winning out.
2. How many cups of coffee do you drink in the morning?
Three cups is about perfect for me. If I only have one I end up with a headache, but if I have four my tummy starts to feel that “icky” feeling.
3. What time do you put your kids to bed? And what time do they get up?
I am fairly strict about our 7pm bedtime on school nights. Those who don’t actually need as much nighttime sleep (anyone who napped) will wake up as early as 6am. The school kids are dragged out of bed at 6:45 – in order to catch the bus at 7:45.
4. Do you floss your teeth regularly?
I never have. I would say that I floss about once per month, and once per week for the month prior to a dentist visit. I know, pathetic.
5. If you were stranded on a desert island and could only keep the pages from one book of the Bible, which book would you keep? And why?
I’d have to say James. Every time I read it I find something practical and relevant. Love it!
On the Loose
I am almost off for an evening away with a girlfriend. By the time you read this I will be off (she doesn’t know where she’s going or who she’s meeting, so I scheduled this to pop up after I know she’s gone -you know?). As soon as I get home tomorrow, Pat and I are sneaking off for a night. We’ll go to his work Christmas party, then enjoy the luxury of sleeping in the next morning. (Yay, Grandma! Have fun at 6am.)
So far this morning I have:
- washed, dried, folded, and put away three loads of laundry
- had my chimney cleaned (unrelated, but it was scheduled for this morning)
- grocery shopped for snacks and quick foods
- packed for one night, stacked packing for the next night
- put tonight’s dinner in the crock pot
- fed two children lunch
- taken out the garbage and recycling
- cleaned up 400 mounds of dog doo
- paid bills
- and paced anxiously waiting for the sitter to arrive (who, as I write this, is not yet due for another hour).
If you’ve never taken a night away with a girlfriend, you totally should. It’s almost naughty how free you feel!
If you’ve never taken a night away with your hubby, you should do that one first. Just 24 hours of escape from the day-to-day can bring month’s worth of refreshing to a marriage.
And if you ever have the blessed opportunity to do both in one weekend, be sure to thank the Lord and not take one moment for granted. Because time away – it is a blessing.
Anyone know how it is that on any normal day it would take every waking moment to complete that list of tasks? Really, getting away is good for the whole family – they’ve never had such a productive Mommy!
Quick Reminder
The God Chronicles will be going up on Friday. Please join me and link up!
I’ll be back with something to say tomorrow. For today, I’ll leave you with this…
Girls really do just wanna have fun.
(P.S. I was four months pregnant, so don’t knock the belly.)
Good Medicine
Laughter, hot spinach dip, dessert you didn’t make at home…these things are good medicine.
You may have noticed that it’s been a busy week. It’s been difficult to pull together a coherent thought for this place. But our conversation last night was of great help in that department.
We were expanding our vocabularies and our horizons over food and giant glasses of iced tea.
Somewhere in the conversation I mentioned the word ginch (or was it gonch). This brought shivers of disgust to my princess friend. Apparently that word provokes her mind to visual images of icky, dirty ginch (or gonch) with bacon strips. If you’re as uneducated as I, you are wondering, “what the heck are bacon strips?” Apparently, this is the new and improved terminology for “skid marks” left behind in said ginch (or gonch) after not wiping properly.
I want to thank my girlfriends for the vocabulary lesson. I will never again be able to enjoy fried bacon.
Doin’ the Hop
I’m joining in on Blog Hop ’09 at Pensieve this weekend. The purpose is to find a few new blogs I love and add them to my reading list (because I have all this free time and nothing to do with it, and I refuse to do housework), to have a few people find my blog and decide they love me, and to try to win some super giveaways!
Since I’m posting twice today, if you visit here regularly you may want to check out my post from earlier this morning…
So, who the heck am I?
Let’s start with the stats:
* 31 years old
* wife
* mother to 5 (ages 11, 7, 6, 4, and almost 2)
* special needs mother
* women’s ministry leader
* hopeful author
But here’s the real grit:
* full-out follower of Jesus Christ
* I hate laundry and cooking (hahaha, God’s funny giving me a big family)
* I love reading and writing
* I love singing (and if loving something made you good at it I’d be fantabulous)
* we are in a perpetual state of home renovation
* my heart beats to see other women find who they are in Christ
* I love being a mom, but struggle big time with being an angry mom
* I love my husband, but all too often let PMS rule our interactions
* I have the unique personality combination of organized procrastinator (???)
* I host a monthly blog carnival called The God Chronicles, so we can keep a record God’s faithfulness in our lives (TGC is supposed to be on the 20th of each month, but I seem to be not completely on top of it – for those who are wondering, I have just now – July 24th – decided to take a summer hiatus from TGC; it will return on Sept. 20th)
And, what shall I be giving away for the Blog Hop? Hmmmm…. I always give away books, because I love to read. But I recognize that not everyone shares my passion. I know, I’ll do up a care package of my favourite things! For example, my fave bubble bath, candle, lotion, book, corkscrew, socks, whatever. As I shop for some of my own faves, I’ll just throw an extra in the cart for the lucky winner! I’ll draw (via random.org) on Tuesday afternoon (that’s July 28th).
To enter, just tell me one of your faves.
Thanks for stopping by!
Mother’s Day Giveaway
I recently had the great blessing of winning a book that I really, really wanted to read. You see, the book was written by someone I “know” (by knowing I mean: I read her blog every day and comment lots in the hopes that she’ll like me *smile) and based on my “knowing” her I was certain her book would be chalk full of wisdom and handy tips for mothering.
Mary Ostyn of Owlhaven has recently released her new book, “A Sane Woman’s Guide to Raising a Large Family.” And fyi – you sure don’t need to have a large family to benefit by reading her book. It is g-o-o-d!
Here’s the review I submitted to amazon.com:
Mary has written the guide of a lifetime! If you (like me) are struggling in any area of family life – from chores to discipline, from organizing to laundry – “A Sane Woman’s Guide…” will have something for you.
Mary’s no-nonsense, concise approach to offering up all the tips and tidbits from her years of experience managing a family of 12 is a quick and easy read. But do NOT mistake it to be your typical quick and easy read; this book is chalk full of information!
I set this book down encouraged that it really is possible to raise my family of seven (five little monkeys) AND keep my house organized and tidy AND not break the bank doing it all. If you are considering purchasing this book, let me tell you this – it will be worth every penny!
If you would like your very own, brand new (read: you’re not getting my copy, I’m keeping it!), hot off the presses copy of Mary’s book, leave me a comment! Not just any comment, though – tell me what you really hope to get for Mother’s Day.
On a side note, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my best advice for getting the gift you want from your spouse for any occasion. So don’t forget to stop by tomorrow; my WFMW post is all about getting the gift you really want.
You don’t need to be a blogger to enter, just make sure you leave me an email address so I can let you know if you’ve won.
Here, I’ll go first. What I really want for Mother’s Day is the gift of total relaxation – 90 minute full body hot stone massage. Mmmmmmm…
* The fine print… No purchase necessary. You must leave a comment in order to be entered. If you would like to post about this giveaway, linking BOTH to this post right here AND to Mary’s book (or her blog), your name will be entered FIVE times (plus another entry for your comment). Entries will close at noon (MST) on Friday, May 8th. Winner will be announced on Saturday, May 9th at 9am (MST). International entries will be accepted.
Come Out, Come Out Wherever You Are!
Lurk – verb (used without object)
1. to lie or wait in concealment, as a person in ambush; remain in or around a place secretly or furtively.
2. to go furtively; slink; steal.
3. to exist unperceived or unsuspected.
4. Chiefly Computers. to read or observe an ongoing discussion without participating in it, as in an Internet newsgroup.–noun Australian Informal.
5. an underhand scheme; dodge.
6. an easy, somewhat lazy or unethical way of earning a living, performing a task, etc.
7. a hideout.
Lurker – noun
One of the `silent majority’ in a electronic forum; one who posts occasionally or not at all but is known to read the group’s postings regularly. This term is not pejorative and indeed is casually used reflexively: “Oh, I’m just lurking.” Often used in `the lurkers’, the hypothetical audience for the group’s flamage-emitting regulars. When a lurker speaks up for the first time, this is called `delurking’.
My friend Jenni has informed me (via her blog) that it is National Delurking Week. What nation – I don’t know! Nor do I care. Because this blog world is all very official-like, I now pronounce it National Delurking WeekEND here in Canada – that way I can justify my participation.
So, what are you waiting for?! Tell me who you are. Say “hi.” Even if you are a faithful reader and commenter, say “hi” just for kicks. What’s that? You need incentive??? Oooooh, incentive I can do. Comment on this post, and I’ll put your name in the drawing for a super-duper prize. If it’s your FIRST TIME leaving a comment, let me know and I will enter your name TWICE! Just because I want you to feel loved and welcomed.
And….go!
Oh, sorry, you want to know what the super-duper prize is. So do I. But I’m going to let Pat decide (you’re free to make suggestions to him, but if he never listens to me I’d be surprised if he listens to you).
Happy National Delurking WeekEND!
P.S. Comments will be closed at my bedtime (around 10pm MST) on Sunday. You know, when the nationally recognized holiday ends.
