Free for All Friday: Sea Change by Karen White Giveaway

It's time for Free for All Friday. This week I have the pleasure of offering one of my lucky followers a chance to win a copy of Sea Change by New York Times bestselling author, Karen White. I fell in love with Karen's work when I read The House on Tradd Street. I've read the first two books in this series, in addition to Falling Home and Lost Hours. If you love southern fiction, you'll want to enter this giveaway. Karen creates some of the best characters-driven fiction I've ever read.

For as long as she can remember, Ava Whalen has struggled with a sense of not belonging, and now, at thirty-five, she still feels stymied by her family. Then she meets child psychologist Matthew Frazier and thinks her days of loneliness are behind her. After a whirlwind romance, they impulsively elope, and Ava moves to Matthew’s ancestral home on St. Simons Island, off the coast of Georgia.

But after the initial excitement, Ava is surprised to discover that true happiness continues to elude her. There is much she doesn’t know about Matthew, including the mysterious circumstances surrounding his first wife’s death. And her new home seems to hold as many mysteries and secrets as her new husband. Feeling adrift, Ava throws herself into uncovering Matthew’s family history and that of the island, not realizing that she has a connection of her own to this place—or that he obsession with the past could very well destroy her future.

This book is due to be released on June 5th!

Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway Winners!

Sorry I am so slow with the announcements this week. Way to much going on and Blogger and IE 9 don't seem to like each other much. There's a long script that runs, which makes it take twice as long to get through the Blogger screens as it used to. Not fun.

Congratulations goes out to Elisha G. She won the Tazo tea.

Congratulations goes out to Alicia H. and June G. They each won a copy of Catholic Family Fun by Sarah A. Reinhard.

Congratulations goes out to Shauna B. She will receive an e-book copy of Desert Intrigue by Linda Weaver Clarke.

All the winners have been notified. A new giveaway will be posted shortly.

Thanks to all who participated.

Book Review: Icky, Sticky, Hairy Scary Bible Stories by Jonathan Schkade

The fact is: not all the stories in the Bible are nice. Some are scary. Some are messy. Some involve hairy guys or guys without any hair. In this zany and fun poetry collection, children learn all about God’s love and how He is willing to do anything to “lift us up and set us free.”

I’ve probably been teaching Sunday school for close to twenty years. I can’t say I’m always the most entertaining or inventive teacher, but I know the kids are learning. The group I have at church now runs from ages five to thirteen. The challenge is in putting together lessons that span these ages. And honestly, teaching the same stories the same way over and again isn’t that fun. Icky, Sticky, Hairy Scary Bible Stories by Jonathan Schkade has helped me share more of the Bible with my students than ever before. From Jonah and the whale to demon pigs falling off cliffs, from the healing of Naaman to Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, from Hezekiah’s plea for God to stop the attack of Sennacherib’s army to the truth in the Book of Revelation and more, these simple and funny rhymes not only engage youngsters, they help kids remember what they learned. Complemented by the wacky artwork of Tuesday Mourning, I find myself using this book time and again to share God’s Word.

Why do I know this works? Because months after reading, “Baldy, the Boys and the Bears,” my students can still tell me the details of Elisha cursing the forty-two boys for mocking him. They can still tell me the story of Esau and Jacob, because “A Hairy Scary Man” made it fun to learn. They also recall the death of John the Baptist, as told in, “Head on A Plate.” Starting off Sunday school lessons with fun allows us to have more meaningful discussions that all the children can participate in.

PURCHASE AT AMAZON!

Reading level: Ages 8 and up

Paperback: 125 pages

Publisher: Concordia Pub House (January 5, 2011)

ISBN-10: 0758626711

ISBN-13: 978-0758626714 

Is There Such a Thing as Too Fair?

Author and fellow blogger, Crystal Bowman, wrote a wonderful post this week offering a tip on dealing with sibling rivalry. She had heard this idea and decided to try it in her own home. Each of her three kids were child for a day twice a week, meaning they got to make the choices for activities such as what TV shows to watch and what music to listen to; but also had responsibilities like setting the table.

I got to thinking about this idea and how much I liked it, but then one other thing came to mind. In our home, we've always tried to keep things "fair" between the two girls. When it was the Lil Princess' birthday, the Lil Diva would get a small gift, and vice versa. Punishments are the same for similar infractions. If the Lil Diva signed up for an activity, the Lil Princess got to select one too. The challenge is that we've created such as strong sense of fairness in our home that they--especially the Lil Diva--can't accept when anything is unfair.

My mother's favorite saying was, "Life isn't fair." I find myself saying that more often as the girls grow and are exposed to different people and experiences. Did our parenting style turn fairness into a liability for our children: create an unrealistic sense of fairness that will be difficult for them to accept and overcome?

How Much Time Do You Spend on the Internet?

In this 2010 comScore Media Matrix survey, it was found that average Americans spend 32 hours a month on the Internet. My age group (35-44) spent the second largest number of hours per month 37.4, while users age (45-54) top the scale at 39.3 hours per month.

I've been thinking lately about how much time I waste browsing the Internet. What would I do with the hours I fritter away each week? Write, research for new projects, monitor investments. Whatever I spent that time on would be more useful than checking our local news sites and email for updates.

I find when I am pushed to the breaking point, so overwhelmed I don't know where to turn, I waste more time online. That's not unusual. It's been shown that one of the reasons we procrastinate is because our schedules are too jam-packed. We need time to wind down. We need to stop saying yes to every volunteer opportunity that comes along. We need time just to snuggle up with our kids and let them know they are loved.

I would probably be amazed by how much time I spend online each week if I tracked it for a month.  How much time do you spend online each week? How much is work related and how much is leisure time? Are there places you can cut back so you aren't browsing the Internet so much?

WSJ Wednesdays - Falling Productivity in the Workforce

This week, we're going to the Friday, May 4, 2012 edition of The Wall Street Journal for WSJ Wednesday. Conor Dougherty wrote an informative article stating "productivity of U.S. workers fell in the first quarter." He says this data suggests companies are close to reaching the limit of how much they can get from the workforce.

Erik Johnson, an economist with IHS Global Insight concurs. He also believes this means if demand continues to rise while productivity lags, companies will continue to hire and invest in new capital equipment to make workers more efficient.

While Dougherty's article, "Workforce Productivity Falls," takes a strictly financial look at sluggish productivity, it's also important to think about it from a physical and emotional perspective. How long can employers continue to go back to the same till and expect good results? People get burnt out.

How can American employers balance profit with rewards for superior performance?

I've been employed in a variety of industries, and in each place, workers varied in work ethics. Some gave 110% all the time. Others did the bare minimum. The remaining lagged behind everyone else and didn't really care. The challenge remains for employers to find a way to reward those who give it their all consistently, while finding what motivates the other two groups to increase productivity. One of my employers took this seriously, and held classes to teach managers how to be sensitive to the various needs (motivators) of their staff members. Employees were also provided training opportunities throughout the year to better position themselves for advancement.

One thing that must be realized is when people are overwhelmed, productivity is destined to suffer. Investing in capital equipment that improves efficiency can help, but the incentives for good work should not be forgotten, even in the tightest of economies.

What is something an employer has done for you that has made you feel appreciated?

Pre-made Marinades or Homemade?

This Sunday was Mother's Day and my in-laws' 56th wedding anniversary, so I decided to invite them over for supper. Since unlike most days lately, the sun was shining, I decide to haul out the grill for steak, ribs and chicken. The ribs came from Schwan’s™ so they were fully cooked and pre-seasoned. They also included a package of barbecue sauce. They were delicious.

When I worked outside the house, I would buy those bottled 30-minute marinades. Now, it just seems like cheating. I never measure when I make my own marinades and I no longer follow a recipe. I simply add ingredients I feel work best for the meat I am cooking and go from there. A few times, this hasn't given me the flavor I was looking for, but it works for the most part. The following two marinades are what I've come up with on my own. If they are similar to something you've seen somewhere else, it's not intentional. I haven't gone scouring the Internet to see if what I toss together for my family is like someone else's mix.

Steak: olive oil, red wine, dry mustard, bay leaves, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

If I had to guess at the measurements, here is what I would say:

• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of onion powder

Toss everything together in a glass bowl, add steak (4- 6 oz.) , cover, and marinate at least 4 hours.

Chicken: lemon juice, fat-free Italian dressing, olive oil, oregano, marjoram, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Estimated measurements:

• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fat-free Italian dressing
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon of oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon of marjoram
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Toss everything together in a glass bowl, add chicken (3 - 4 skinless breasts), cover, and marinate at least 4 hours.

Do you use those pre-made marinades? Do you have a favorite meat you like to marinade?