Blogger Opportunity!

Do you love candles?  Diamond Candles is offering an opportunity to bloggers to do a review/giveaway for their candles.  Check it out here.

Jane By Design Season 1

Tori and I kinda stumbled upon this show after watching Switched at Birth!  We LOVE it!  When my husband turned off the cable to save some money, we mourned...until we discovered its on Hulu.com!!!  Here's a preview of Season One that is coming out on DVD!

Price Check

Author: Joseph Sandoval

I checked the Wildblue Price last week to make sure my bill was correct because this is a new habit I have tried to keep with. A few weeks before Christmas, I read an article about the importance of checking receipts when you go shopping at local retailers. It seems that people rarely do this anymore. How often do you go to dinner with your family, and when the bill comes, you just automatically reach for your credit or debit card without even reviewing the bill? I happened to take a second to look at my bill once at a restaurant we tend to frequent. I was shocked to find that we had been charged for four drinks when we had actually all ordered water. This was nearly a ten dollar addition to our bill that I probably would not have ever caught. This particular article I read about holiday shopping was pointing out that cashiers were adding a “cash back” amount to a bill, and some customers never caught this until well after the fact. Cashiers would simply add this to the total, and then pocket the difference from the actual paid merchandise. The retailer itself would be none the wiser because at the end of the day, the drawer would balance. The difference was the cash was going into the pocket of the cashier, not the customer.

Real Marriage The Truth about Sex, Friendship, & Life Together Review

Let me start out this review saying that my husband and I are HUGE fans of Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church!  When I was chosen to review his Real Marriage Bible study, I could not wait to get my hands on it! Let's get all of the descriptions on what this study is about and then discuss what I felt about this study!

Book Description

Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife, Grace, talk about sex and marriage in down-to-earth terms, hitting issues other Christian books won’t. While a wonderful wedding day is important, it’s the last day of marriage that really counts. Will the last day of your marriage come prematurely through divorce? Will it be filled with regrets as you sit at the funeral of your spouse? Or, by God’s grace, will the last day be a day to rejoice in the life you lived together?

Pastor Mark Driscoll and his wife, Grace, want you to finish well on the last day. In this interactive DVD-based study, couples will reflect on Scripture, the trade book, and video conversation starters. Through the homework and group sessions, couples will tackle the tough issues, such as:

--Should I confess my pre-marital sexual sin to my husband/wife?

--Is it okay to have a “work husband/wife”?

--Can I say no to my husband when I really do have a headache?

--What does the Bible say about masturbation and oral sex?

From fun date night tips to the most tricky “can we do that?” sex questions, Mark and Grace share practical help and hope with people just like them—who entered marriage a complete mess—or who are planning to be married someday and want to avoid some sticky pitfalls.

Features include:

--11 (10- to 15-minute) videos featuring candid interviews with Mark and Grace for small group or couple discussion

--Participant guide appropriate for couples or singles (ISBN 9781418550424)

--Leader's guide

My Opinion

If you follow Mark Driscoll at all, your used to a preacher who is on fire for the Lord! He is vibrant and full of energy and passion when he preaches about God and that is why we love him!  Real Marriage is a solid study in biblical principals on what marriage should be, encouraging us to "fall in love" with our God given partners and to live a life that is filled with God and a great love for each other.  

Grace hits on the touchy subject of submission to our men and what that means.  Mark challenges men to step up and be the head of the family, reminding them that they are directly under Jesus and if they aren't leading, they aren't glorifying God.  They hit the uncomfortable topics of sex and what is acceptable within the marriage.  Blessedly, they remind us that as long as you are keeping your marriage bed holy, you are glorifying God in the way you love each other.  

I give the book part of the study an A+!  Loved it, loved the questions and the group discussions.  What I struggled with was the video clips.  Like I said, I'm used to the fiery preacher and in the video's you get a soft spoken, almost submissive man.  The video clips did not keep my attention at all, and even lost my husbands attention and he REALLY WANTED to be captivated by what was being said.  In a group setting, I'm afraid the video's would be the part where you would lose people to go get drinks and snacks.  I know that there is a challenge to keep the topic sacred but I think it got lost in the monotone, quiet speech of it all.

Overall, I would give this study a C if you add in the video clips.  If you choose to read the book, Real Marriage, which is excellent and use the study guide and leader guide with it, I would give it an A++!

If you've done the study, I would love to hear what you thought.  Please share in the comments section.

Disclaimer:  I was provided this Bible Study by Book Sneeze, to give my honest opinion on the product.  You can review books too!  Just click on the button below!

Dubs goes to Washington Book Review

If you are looking for a simple book to teach your children about the various landmarks in Washington D.C., Dubs goes to Washington is the book for you!  Dubs is a sweet Golden Retriever that "loses" his ball in Washington.  On his great search for his beloved ball, he goes past and learns about all the different landmarks such as the White House to Martin Luther King's memorial.  

The book is sweet!  My four year olds quickly engaged into the book and fell in love with the main character, Dubs!  Of course, we have a soft spot for Golden Retrievers because of our own family member, Goldie.  It was fun to use our imaginations and pretend our Goldie went on a "trip" to different locations to build upon our U.S. History.  

Book Description

Dubs Goes to Washington... and Discovers the Greatness of America is a book that teaches young children their first patriotic lessons. The star of the book is Dubs, our adorable golden retriever. Dubs has lost his beloved tennis ball in Washington, D.C. Your kids and grandkids - and, in fact, all kids from 4-8 - will love helping Dubs find it - and, in the process, will discover what makes America such an exceptional nation. We decided to write this book because we couldn’t find books for our young friends that teach them about our great country, our important institutions, and our heroes. Too often, our schools and publishers ignore these important subjects or relegate them to adults. But, as we all know, you’re never too young to be a patriot! Dubs Goes to Washington... gives parents and grandparents the perfect vehicle for introducing our patriotic heritage to children aged four to eight. This delightful history and civics lesson will be a favorite bedtime story for your family. Kids will learn a little about our founding fathers, our patriotic traditions, the message of our national monuments, and the importance of our war heroes who fought for our freedom. These beautifully illustrated lessons show some of the things that make America an exceptional nation. And it’s fun for kids, too. Dubs’ yellow tennis ball is hidden in each of the drawings, and kids have to search to find it. We know you're proud of what makes 

Get your copy of Dubs Goes To Washington" via Createspace on Amazon.com

Disclaimer:  I was provided Dubs goes to Washington for free to give my honest review.  Thank you Grand Communications.

Decorating in 2012

My husband and I have some "goals" to reach in 2012 and one of the biggest one's is doing some decorating in our home.  We moved in last July and have LOVED having more room with a huge covered deck and a big backyard for the kids and dogs to play in.  But we've been living in our vanilla house for 6 months and we are ready to start working on making it our own.

Part of decorating is finding the best deals out there!  I was given the opportunity to check out and review Become.com website and I'm pretty excited that we may have found a resource to use in our decorating adventures!  Let me show you around...

One of the rooms we'll be focusing on is the Master Bedroom.  I know that most people start with the living room and dining room because this is where people see, but I'm a big believer in having a sanctuary to go to at the end of the day with your beloved.  After browsing through Become.com light selection,  I stumbles upon these cute little "mood" lights.

I thought these would offer a soft ambient light along the top of our wall of bookcases that are in our bedroom.  What do you think?

Another space we are looking at improving upon is our main bath.  We have full bathrooms in our house, but one is brand new because they added it when we bought the house.  But we do have the main bath and it could use some revamping.  One of my dream items is a Vessel Sink!  I just love the way they look!

I really adore the simplicity of this particular sink but Become.com offers a HUGE selection of different styles and depths.  

Why don't you take a look around their website and come back and tell me one thing you'd love to have in your house!?  Even if its just to dream of rooms in your house or if you are actually jumping into the redecorating world, what would you choose?

Have a blessed day!

*Disclaimer: This is a paid advertisement through Blogsvertise.

Slim-Fast for 2012

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Slim-Fast for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Tis the season...to start thinking about weight loss  Am I the only one who looks at January as a new start and a new way to live or is it just me?  I don't think so by the statistics out there!  I have used Slim-Fast before to help me get a kick start on my eating plans and this year I will do the same!  I need the help to get focused on taking care of my body!

Slim-Fast to the rescue!  Who hasn't heard of Slim-Fast?  They've been around forever and they are ready to help you out in the world of health and weight loss!

Slim-Fast 3*2*1 plan uses the delicious shakes AND meal bars plus 100 calorie snacks that are filled with fruits, nuts and vegetables.  You can choose between a delicious chocolate shake or a replacement meal bar to help curb those midday cravings! I personally am excited to try a replacement bar! I love the shakes for breakfast but lunchtime I need something to chew.  Do you struggle with that too?  

 

Slim-Fast is also on Facebook!  Go give them a "Like" and check in on good deals and what other folks are doing to help get those pounds off and keep them off!  http://www.facebook.com/slimfast  Where do you buy Slim-Fast products?  Walmart, Target, Safeway, and Kroger.  You can even buy it online at Amazon.com and the Slim-Fast 1 2 3 store on Facebook!