Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy - A Review

Fun, scripted journals are not typically the type of thing I buy for myself; however, that does not mean I have never wanted them. I just felt a little silly treating myself to this type of thing. So, when Blogging for Books generously offered a review copy, I jumped at the chance.

And, you know what the Do One Thing Every Day That Makes You Happy journal showed me? I should have just bought the cute journal for myself because it makes me happy! Treat Yo' Self. 

This bright colored journal is a compact size, but it packs a big punch. As a firm believer that we can change our attitudes by showing gratitude, this journal is an easy reminder that we are in charge of our outlook. By helping the writer think about one thing every day that filled him/her with happiness, it reminds the writer to stay positive.

Filled with inspiring quotes and thought-provoking short writing prompts, it is an effective tool for seeking the positive in each day.

But, if I am to be honest, my favorite prompts were the ones that included lists. I am a list lover. So, I am happy to find there are several pages for lists, such as your Top 5 songs, Top 5 books, Top 5 shows, etc. I also loved the pages where you were prompted to use some creativity to draw something or think outside the box.

There are some things that are not traditional for a journal. First, you are prompted to do tasks (i.e., smile at someone in a restaurant), so it cannot simply be filled out in the evening before you go to bed. Additionally, the journal has space for you to fill in the date, but it seems like it will be easier to jump around rather than go through the journal page by page.

Finally, I am looking forward to using this journal in the new year alongside my family. I think it has excellent prompts for discussion around the dinner table. Now that my son is journaling, I think it will be a tool he can use as well.

For those needing a helpful tool for staying positive in these turbulent times, this journal is a great choice. It is fun, and you may even find it helps you change your attitude.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. You can purchase the book from Amazon here or by clicking the image. 

Book Review: Church of the Small Things

Church of the Small Things by Melanie Shankle

I have read every book Melanie Shankle has written, so I was thrilled beyond thrilled to be chosen to be on the Church of the Small Things launch team. Melanie came to fame as a blogger. Her first book, Sparkly Green Earrings, is about motherhood. It knocked me off my feet. Then, she wrote a book on marriage (Antelope in the Living Room). Next, she wrote a book on friendship (Nobody's Cuter Than You).

Now, she has a written a book (Church of the Small Things) that contains aspects of each of these themes. The book is just as great as her previous books, and you are going to wait to add it to your bookshelf. Let me tell you why.

Or let me allow Melanie to tell you why this book matters: “We are a generation of women who have never worked harder to have it all, yet go to bed most nights worrying we aren’t enough.”

In Church of the Small Things, Melanie tells story after story where she recognizes that the everyday, small, often unrecognized things are actually the things that make a life. It is easy to wonder if what you are doing really matters. Melanie assures us, yes, it matters. The small things build a life.

The book is a joy to read because Melanie is so relatable. She made me laugh out loud several times, and she made me cry. She made me think about the meaning of things and delve deeper into my faith. Just last night, I was discussing fear and faith with my girlfriends – and especially how easy it is for me to not trust God with the small stuff. But, this book reminds me that God is even in the midst of those small things and He is using them in ways I fail to see.

She believes that God continuously uses the small things to shape us and prepare us for the big things. It is all those daily mundane things that make us who we are. It is the small things that shape our children (changing diapers, making meals, giving kisses). It is the small things that shape a marriage (holding hands, forgiving stupidity, sharing a dessert). According to Melanie, “The church of the small things is where the majority of us live every single day.”

Thank you so much to the Melanie Shankle and Zondervan for providing me with a copy of Church of the Small Things to review! For more information about the book and the forthcoming Bible Study, visit the website.

*You can purchase the book from Amazon here (or by clicking the image of the book cover). These are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog.

20 Surprising Times I Felt Old

I am in my mid-thirties. I have several friends both older and younger. But, the older I get, the more surprised I am by my age. There are still days when I do not understand why people are asking me questions because I do not feel like an adult. However, there are more days now where I am well aware that I am no longer the young lady fresh out of college. I do adult things all the time because I am an adult.

This does not mean I always do the wise adult thing, but I am an adult. I have to say it out loud some days. And yet, there are still times when I am shocked to feel old. I’m sure you’ve been there too – when all of the sudden someone says something and you are instantly aware of your age. So, I’ve compiled a list of 20 surprising times I felt old. Help me embrace the humor of it by adding your own.

1. When my students started getting married.
2. When my students started having babies.
3. When I took my kids to Disney World the first time. The sheer exhaustion at the end of each day filled me with awe at my parents doing it repeatedly.
4. When I realized I was significantly older than all the women on The Bachelor.
5. When the wine delivery guy did not ask me for my ID (even though I answered the door in my pajamas).
6. When I got excited because the store clerk asked for my ID.
7. When I was the oldest bridesmaid at the wedding. (This has happened more than once and it still surprises me).
8. Whenever someone says, “Ask Jen. She’s been married the longest.”
9. When I yelled to my husband, “Hurry! You don’t want to miss this adorable Hallmark movie about two competing winemakers who fall in love in the vineyard!” and meant it.
10. When my husband became the go-to conversationalist about certain male procedures.
11. When I went to get a pedicure and it was truly a time of relaxation and bliss and not simply something to do before a formal event.
12. When the thought of going to Kirkland’s filled me with joy.
13. Whenever I calculate the number of years since high school.
14. When I have to ask someone what a word “the young people” are using means.
15. When I have to ask who some celebrity is.
16. Whenever I turn on MTV.
17. When I started reading motivational or self-help books and enjoying them.
18. When I wanted nothing more than solitude and silence for an afternoon.
19. When I reference a song/movie/show from my past that a friend does not know because it was before her time.
20. When I started having to wear under eye concealer. 

What else would you add to the list? 

The Law of Two Children: When One Behaves, the Other Misbehaves

I have been totally honest about how going from one child to two was an eye-opening experience for our little family. Two distinct personalities formed at very young ages that require two different types of love and discipline. Simply put – it has been challenging.

However, there are moments when having two does make life easier and more fun, such as when they decorate their faces and pretend they are miniature KISS rock stars. Or when they sneak into each other’s bedrooms at night to tell stories and cuddle.

Sometimes seeing the two of them play together fills my heart and makes me grin from ear to ear. Other days I breathe a sigh of relief because they can entertain each other and mommy doesn’t have to. All in all, more than one kid has worked out well for our little family.

And yet, I have recently stumbled upon the Law of Two Children, which veteran moms warned me about. Basically, the Law of Two Children works similarly to Newton's Third Law: every action has an equal and opposite reaction except with kids it becomes “when one behaves, the other misbehaves.” I’ve come to find that those sweet moments of sibling togetherness are to be enjoyed because they are fleeting moments. One of the two is bound to do something to get in trouble in approximately five minutes.

This law is all-encompassing. It does not just apply to the day-to-day shenanigans. This applies to the big life picture events. For example, I did not hide the fact that our daughter’s terrible two’s were beyond terrible – they were a nightmare. But, as soon as she turned three years old, she has made a radical turn around.

And, guess what? So has her sweet usually well-behaved six-year-old brother. He has started to act out in ways that he never has before leaving his parents struggling to know how to respond. We get one kid acting right and the other loses his mind. The Law of Two Children.

Another example comes from our recent family vacation. At the start of our week-long vacation, our six-year-old was the one trying our patience and needing more discipline than usual while the three-year-old was behaving like a little angel. Fast forward to the end of the week when our six-year-old ring bearer became the angel and our three-year-old flower girl became a whiny little tyrant. The Law of Two Children.

Older mothers warned me that once you get one kid figured out, the other starts to give you trouble. And, I did not believe them. I was wrong. The Law of Two Children is real. I’m at the point now where I believe they strategize and plan out who will be the good one and the bad one for the day. I picture them giggling in their bedrooms together deciding who will give their mother hell the next day and who will give mommy a “break.”

Book Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford

Confession: If a book is about a fair, a carnival, or a circus in the past, I will read it. So, when I read the description of Love and Other Consolation Prizes, I immediately wanted to read it. The First World's Fair in Seattle plus a brothel? Yep. I'm in.

And this novel did not let me down. If anything, it is even better than I anticipated. This book is a sorrow-filled portrait of the lives of Asian immigrants that is so incredibly well-written you will want to savor reading it rather than rushing to reach the end. I spent the whole week reading a few chapters at a time and enjoying every minute, which is much different than a book that is primarily plot-driven that sends you rushing through the pages to reach the conclusion.

The novel tells the story of a young Chinese boy who has been sent to America and goes from one children's home to the next until he ends up the winning item in a raffle at Seattle's World Fair in 1909. Who buys him? A madam of the most prestigious brothel in Seattle. He enters a world of sin, but he winds up finding a family and falling in love.

This novel has amazing characters that will stay with you long after you finish reading it. The various working women are not caricatures but are individual and layered. The settings also come alive - they are not simply backgrounds. The Tenderloin and the World's Fair become characters themselves.

And, the writing. Oh, the writing. Tha author, Jamie Ford, has a gift for evocative language and storytelling. For instance, his writing includes lines like:

• "As Ernest baptized himself in memory" 
• "He chose his words the way a man on thin ice chooses his footing"
• "Ernest struggles to process the ugly details while gazing down on such a beautiful place. His heart felt torn between the two worlds."
• "Girls were complicated, women confounding, their challenges almost insurmountable."

I could go on and on with all the beautifully written lines I underlined as I read. Basically, this novel is wonderful. I highly recommend it and think it will be a great choice for book clubs. 

** I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

* This book will be released from Amazon tomorrow (September 12, 2017). You may purchase the book by clicking here or the picture. These are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!

One Romantic Hurricane Story

While the Eastern shore is anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hurrican Irma and Texas is dealing with the devastation from Hurricane Harvey, I figured now is the time to tell my "romantic" hurricane story.

In no way am I making light of hurricanes. Their effects are enormous, long-lasting, and deadly. I am praying for those in Texas and those in Florida. Hurricanes are nasty business - ripping along some of the most beautiful places on Earth. I do not wish them on any town or anyone. But, for me, a few hurricanes will always hold sacred memories.

It was because of a hurricane that I first met my husband. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd led to a mandatory evacuation of Savannah, Georgia, the town I grew up in. While many friends from high school have memories of being stuck in traffic on the interstate for hours, my dad simply drove back country roads to stay with family friends in Augusta, Georgia.

Since schools were cancelled, we had a few days to spend in Augusta. While we were there, I visited our friend's church. It was at this church where I first met my husband, Derek. We were in 10th and 9th grade. I talked to him briefly after church.

The end.

Well, not really. We went back home and I did not talk to him again for years. However, this family friend continued to occasionally mention that cute boy I met that one time. So, when we ended up in colleges directly across the street from each other, we got each other's contact information and "re-met" each other. And, the rest is history.

For the most part. But, our hurricane history did not end then.

On our first dating anniversary (which is a big deal, you know), Derek could not drive through Hurricane Isabel in Carolina to come visit me in Atlanta.

He proposed to me as Hurricane Katrina was bearing down on Louisiana.

We purposely choose a honeymoon destination on the West Coast of Mexico to avoid hurricanes, but alas, while on our honeymoon, they experienced their first hurricane, Hurricane Sergio, in fifty years. We were safe, but we did have the maids burst into our room when my husband was just in underwear to stow all the outdoor furniture.

Our first wedding anniversary, we were without power for the evening.

On our second wedding anniversary, we were living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana when Hurricane Gustav devastated the city in 2008. We were without power for a week.

We have thankfully been hurricane free ever since, but for us, hurricanes remind us of some of the most memorable moments in our relationship history. And, with a yearly hurricane season, we always remember.

I wish it was that simple for everyone. But, I know it isn't. We have made it through unscathed, but many do not. So, we are with you in spirit. We are praying. We are holding on to hope that as each hurricane passes, you are spared.

Book Review: Evicted

Evicted by Matthew Desmond

Well, this is a book I had high hopes for that did not quite live up to my expectations. However, that in no way means it was a bad book. I simply was looking to be moved by it in the same way I was by a handful of other nonfiction titles this year (Just Mercy, Hillbilly Elegy, American Fire), and that just did not happen.

Evicted by Matthew Desmond is an incredibly detailed behind-the-scenes look at poverty, rental properties, and evictions in Milwaukee. It has won numerous awards and is being heavily praised. For me, the most interesting part of the book is the ending when Desmond tells you how he approached this work as a journalist. Learning how he got close enough to learn the secrets was truly fascinating.

However, the stories themselves were not as interesting to me. I believe this is because it was the same sad story told over and over again. This is probably part of the point though - this is an ongoing battle in a vicious system, so we need to acknowledge that these problems are recurring and the cycle is continuing. But, reading the different stories over and over again was not as moving as I expected it to be.

With that being said, while I might not have been moved to tears, it was clearly eye-opening. I learned quite a bit I did not know (and most probably turned a blind eye to). For example, I had not stopped to think about the people who make money off of those living in poverty. Desmond refers to one individual as an inner-city entrepreneur. She owns their crumbling homes and offers transportation to visit family members in jail. And, then, she kicks them out when times get hard.

This book delves into the bleak world of poverty, evictions, welfare, and city planning. Desmond carefully demonstrates the struggle to pay the rent and feed your family - especially when the rent takes up most of your pay.

I won't say it is a must-read, but it is an illuminating and challenging read.

To learn more, please see:

• More Info
• Author Bio

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.