If you’ve ever been to the Tricities, you can’t have missed the Pal’s restaurant chain that is our local favorite for tea, chili buns, and the best french fries ever.  For one thing, Pal’s restaurants are unmistakable.  I still remember the first time I saw one.  When I came to this area for college, we drove by one of the restaurant locations and I was a taken aback by the huge hot dog on top of the robin egg blue building.

Back in those days, Pal’s let you get a free refill of sweet tea when you brought back your huge styrofoam cup.  The cup holds 32 oz of ambrosia.  It’s more like a bucket.  Once you get used to drinking sweet tea in these cups, drinking from a normal-sized cup seems like you’re on a diet.   For a poor college kid, getting TWO huge drinks for the price of one was a bargain.  Not to mention that I attended a pretty conservative Christian college, so drinking sweet tea was about as wild as we got. [Read more…]

Disclosure: This post contains my affiliate link. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

What types of Christmas cards do you love?  I have enjoyed lots of styles of cards in my sending days.  My favorites were the photo magnets (got lots of comments on those).   This year there are so many cool options including the new clear cards from Tiny Prints.  I’m eager to try something new and am hoping to grab one of the good deals before the holidays so I have time to fill out the addresses.  If you’ll remember, there are some years when I don’t never get around to mailing the cards after addressing them because the holidays just get away from me.  So silly!!! [Read more…]

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links and I received a bonus for posting. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Now that fall weather is upon us, we’ll be spending more time indoors.  Whether the rain or snow is keeping us in, or just the cold temperatures, it’s tempting to crawl into bed and sleep the day away.  How about learning a new skill instead?  The Internet provides so many great opportunities for learning a craft.  Now you have the chance to learn a new skill and it doesn’t have to cost you a penny!!   Craftsy offers you the chance to take a free online class to learn how to knit, sew, decorate a cake, or even quilt.  There are lots of good reasons to give this a try.

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Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Jericho Books. I received a product sample to facilitate my review.

In the dictionary, next to the definition of The Golden Rule there is a picture of Sarah Thebarge.
Well, there really isn’t.
But there should be.

Sarah Thebarge could have been excused for ignoring the tired mom and the two kids on the bus.  Most anyone else would have not noticed the small family, except to scoot farther away from them so they wouldn’t touch the children’s dirty clothing.  Sarah answered the nudge of the Holy Spirit by befriending this family.  She became a lifeline for them in a world that buzzed right on by.  Sarah could have been excused for ignoring that family because she was going through her own struggles.  After several bouts of cancer, an unexpected breakup, and a pretty crappy year, no one would have blamed her for just closing her eyes to the pain she saw.  Instead, Sarah reached within herself to find generosity, empathy, and compassion that surpassed possibly even her greatest pain.  Because as much as the cancer cost her, it seemed like her lonely heart was killing her. [Read more…]

Disclosure:  The Del Monte products, information, gift pack, and gift card have been provided by Del Monte. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Now that my daughter is getting older, she’s taking over some of the responsibility of the house.  It’s truly important for her to realize how to run a household, even if she has an inefficient model like me to follow.  She loves to cook and has taken over one weeknight meal from start-to-finish.  She pretty much takes care of the dog’s food and water, too.  The most recent change is that she packs her own lunch.  Many of my sixth graders still expect their parents to pack their lunch for them, so I feel like we’ve reached a milestone.  It’s also very liberating for me in the morning, since I don’t have to worry about what to pack in her lunchbox that she might actually eat.  It’s difficult to find healthy protein options that she’ll consider eating at lunchtime.  She also turns her nose up at many side items, unless they’re chips or cookies.  What to pack for lunch each day?  That’s the day-in, day-out question at our house.  [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received this book to review.
The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

I recently read an interesting novel about the return of the Israelites to Jerusalem.  Following the Babylonian Captivity, the Israelites are free to return to their beloved city of Jerusalem.  In Memoirs of the Way Home, author Gerald M. Bilkes explores the history of prophets Ezra and Nehemiah.  While this may be a simplified study for theological scholars, it’s far deeper than the average Bible student probably expects from a devotional.   Bilkes likens the journey back to Jerusalem to the parable of the Prodigal Son.  I haven’t heard that analogy before; I found it to be an interesting insight.  Anytime the Old Testament parallels the New Testament, it catches my attention.  Bilkes entertains a satisfying blend of academia with general information. [Read more…]

My husband has been watching a lot of Food Network lately.  Maybe it’s a subliminal message to get me to cook better meals.  Perhaps he’s dissatisfied with having spaghetti twice a week?  I don’t know, but this morning we watched the Pioneer Woman and Tricia Yearwood cook up a storm.  Not together, but two separate episodes of cream-based soups and heavy casseroles.   Like the dutiful wife, I printed off a couple of the recipes we watched and made a grocery list so that I can make a few good meals this week.  While we were out of town this week, we ate out just about every meal and I’m feeling kind of icky from all of that salty-carby-fast food anyway.  [Read more…]

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book to review. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

The post-Civil War era has become more interesting to me lately due to the books I’ve been reading.  The Journey of Josephine Cain was tempting to read all weekend long; I found myself choosing it over any other task.  My full sink of dishes can attest to that fact!  The beginning of the story opens with the assassination of President Lincoln, then the book continues through the building of the Transcontinental Railroad.  I’ve never been on a “real” train before, unless the trains at Tweetsie and Dollywood count.  Reading The Journey of Josephine Cain helped me to visualize the incredibly difficult manual labor that such a project required.   [Read more…]

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. I received free Werther’s Original products in order to host the Werther’s Original Sponsored MommyParty. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

There are some things in life that are just simple, perfect, and delicious the way they are. Werther’s Original candies are that way for me. They are in the sweetest little golden capsules, wrapped in gold foil, and are just overall delicious.  Now the good people at Wertherland are putting the flavor all over some popcorn. As if it were possible, Werther’s Original just got better. Oh my stars, you just don’t even know until you have tried this caramel popcorn!!! Do yourself a favor and buy three bags for the holidays this year. Set out two bags in bowls, but stash the third away for yourself to enjoy after everyone has devoured the other two. This popcorn is so good that you really will find yourself eating handful after handful, unable to stop. I know this from experience! [Read more…]

When my daughter went through preschool, we were all excited when she brought home the Alpha Bag. She had the letter R and we spent the weekend finding the perfect items to put in the bag. Raisins (enough for the class to share), a robot toy, and a doll’s roller skate were fun to find. Five years later, the second time the Alpha Bag came home was not as exciting. My son had the letter L and the only things I could think of to add to the bag were either items we didn’t have or things that weren’t appropriate for a preschool class. At six o’clock on Sunday night I headed to Walmart to buy a lemon, lime, Lucky Charms, and a toy lion since nothing in our house seemed to start with the letter L.  At least, nothing appropriate.

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