Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy by Merrilee Boyack

I’ve found my New Year’s resolution book. Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy: A Woman’s Guide to a Better Life by Merrilee Boyack seems to have much that I needed to hear right now. It addresses one of the biggest issues we as women face: guilt. What it is and isn’t, what it’s place in our lives should be, and what to do about the fact that so many of us have simply lost the joy in life that is meant to be ours.

I found myself relating to almost everything Ms. Boyack had to say. She’s very down to earth and practical. She opened by telling a story about a Saturday following a series of very stressful days. Her husband insisted that she needed a day to recharge and must leave the house and go “play”. Uh huh. If you’re a normal living breathing female your first thoughts were probably similar to mine. “I wish I could spend a day playing.” But take it a step further. Merrilee says she liked the idea, but when she thought about it the only things she could think to do were “should dos”: catch up the grocery shopping, finish her visiting teaching, take the car for an oil change. No where on her list of initial thoughts was something that could be considered “playing”. She thought harder. She admits that she honestly had no idea any more what brought her joy, what interested her outside of have-tos and to-do lists. What’s worse? She tried calling some of her friends to come out and play and help her find something to do. Every single woman turned her down because they had too much else going on in their lives.

Somehow I think Heavenly Father watches us women as we scurry about being anxious about being “anxiously engaged in a good cause” and would like to shake some sense in to the lot of us. Merrilee Boyack thinks that might be the case as well. So, the whole of Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy addresses the weird and warped sense of reality that many women put upon themselves. She talks about finding out what really matters and how to make the most of who we are, not who we think we should be.

Title chapters include:

• Women of Joy, Not Guilt
• Women of Being, Not Comparison
• Women of Faith, Not Fear
• Women of Peace, Not Worry
• Women of Obedience, Not Defiance
• Women of Strength, Not Weakness
• Women of Eternity, Not Mortality

Yep. I found myself in every chapter. The good thing though was that I didn’t feel bad or rejected. I felt accepted and enlightened as I read Ms. Boyack’s thoughts on each subject. Yes, she wants us to be better, but better at being happy not better at everything we ever thought we should be. It was a good experience for me to read Toss the Guilt and Catch the Joy. I needed its warm and loving encouragement to see my life in a very different light than what I had been. I hadn’t realized how many ways I’d let Satan and his negative influences overtake things in my life that should be beautiful and fulfilling until I could sit back and read a little bit more about Heavenly Father’s plan of Happiness. Believe it or not, that does include women.

Now that I’ve read it through once, I plan to keep it close during the coming year. It really will be my New Year’s resolution book. See, I don’t normally make resolutions; they inevitably turn out to be one more thing to feel bad about in a month time. But I’d like to try an experiment this year. One chapter a month. That’s all I’m requiring of myself. I will re-read one chapter each month and work only on that attribute in my life. Maybe it will work, maybe it won’t, but I’d like to try. I’d really like to learn how to play again by this time next year.

Care to join me? Reading Toss the Guilt is a great place to start.

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My Fair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Okay, this is a secret I’ve been holding on to for several months and now I can finally tell you about it! (Sometimes I just love knowing all these cool authors.) On January 6, 2009 Janette Rallison’s new book My Fair Godmother will be available for purchase. For me, My Fair Godmother was a total keeper. It was right up my alley and a very fun read.

In My Fair Godmother you meet a pair of sisters who are about to become an extra credit project for a fairy in training. (She’s a fair godmother- her grades in fairy godmother school are only average.) Said fairy is also very much a flaky teenage girl which makes her a very scary force to be reckoned with when you add a magic wand.

Savannah, the sister who gets granted three wishes in order to fix her love life, is whisked away to the middle ages to live the life of Cinderella before she can finish saying "Prince Charming". The only problem? The ball isn’t for another 8 months and Savannah is not at all pleased with the middle ages, or the prince for that matter, and her fair godmother won’t return her calls. When she does finally turn up it’s only to send Savannah in to the life of Snow White instead. The resulting story is reminiscent of other tales of modern men and women suddenly finding themselves in places like King Arthur’s court with the added fun of suddenly being the main star in a very popular fairy tale. With that twist there is a lot more of the story to tell and a lot more work involved to get to “happily ever after”.

There were a few very cliché problems sprinkled in the mix, but I didn’t mind them too much because although they are much used, they are also very true to actual worries and bad dreams for a modern teenage girl. I also stumbled a bit with the beginning of the story. It was a cute set of reports and correspondence in the magical world about the sister’s case, but I would have loved to jump into the girls' heads a little sooner. It took me a few paragraphs to transition to the different thought process successfully. My only other complaint was what seemed to me to be an over-emphasis on a negative trait: everyone, including Savannah herself, couldn’t seem to get over the fact that she was seen as a bubble-headed ditz. She had some great qualities and I would have liked to see her discover them in herself throughout the whole story rather than mostly at the end. She did grow as the story progressed, but her negative qualities were still very emphasized throughout.

Oh, and Janette made me crave Ding Dongs. I haven’t had those things in years. Darn her.

Other than those little complaints I had a great time following Savannah’s adventures. There are some great lessons on life and love peppered in subtly and some great giggle factors tossed in with the fairy tale references. I’m a big fan of books that make use of the classic fairy tales. I love to see those stories woven into something fresh and new and My Fair Godmother does a great job of that. Janette Rallison creates a new look at things and weaves them together with a nice twist. Watch for My Fair Godmother in January and treat yourself to a trip to the middle ages and a fun story. Great job Janette!

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Beating the High Cost of Eating by Barbara Salsbury

Given the state of the economy, and my personal checkbook for that matter, I thought I might read up on one area that can really be a problem for many families. Beating the High Cost of Eating by Barabara Salsbury with Sandi Simmons touts itself as being an “Essential Guide to Supermarket Survival”. I read it looking for ways to cut my own family’s grocery bill. But, really, I’m not sure if that’s what I found or not.

I really enjoyed the book. Ms. Salsbury has some very interesting information hidden in its chapters, but I’m not sure that I found much in the way of new specific information on how to cut my food bill. She does a lot to help you understand grocery store tactics to get your money and what causes you to hand it over so readily. That was very interesting to consider. Mostly, it seemed to be all stuff I already knew about neatly compiled and laid out with all the right reasons and arguments on why it works. Her suggestions included shopping at multiple stores, making menus based on sales not cravings or traditions, tweaking recipes to get rid of expensive ingredients, only using coupons for items you’d buy anyway, exploring all the brands not assuming name brand is best, stocking your pantry so you shop on your own terms not immediate needs, that kind of thing.

I will say that she has a good point about price recognition, though. If you don’t know what the items you always buy should be priced, you don’t really know when you’re getting a great deal. I used to be great at this. I could walk into a store and automatically know “Okay, this is much more expensive here than if I wait and purchase it at the other store.” Now my brain has become sufficiently addled that I’m lucky if I remember the average cost of a gallon of milk much less the other 50 foods that consistently show up on my grocery lists. I tried to be all sophisticated about making my price list as Ms. Salsbury suggested, but it didn’t really work. I should have done it her way. She suggests taking a notebook with you to the store and jotting down the prices and sizes etc of the foods you buy so it’s all there together. I thought I’d upgrade and type it up in an excel sheet when I got home. Wrong. It was an extra step to take that receipt to the computer and remember exactly what the little abbreviations meant and what sizes all the containers were. I haven’t tried again since, but I really should.

She’s also not a big fan of coupons. She explains why. I agree with her as well, but I coupon because I like the game of it and the extra time it gives me out of the house (it takes a lot of time to clip, sort, and then price compare with those little pieces of paper to make sure you’re really getting the best deal). Mostly, I like any method that can give me those little internal grins and giggles when the cashier sighs at my stack of coupons then tells me I saved more than I spent—oh yeah, it’s the little things in life.

On the whole Barbara Salsbury’s book Beating the High Cost of Eating was a good refresher course for me and a self-check system. My biggest problem now? Time and self-discipline. Anybody know a good book for convincing me to take care of those things? If I could, taking care of my food budget would be a breeze!

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Water Keep by J. Scott Savage

There is no doubt about it; fantasy books remain popular with the middle-grade and YA scene. I have quite a taste for this type of writing as well, and I’ve added the first installment for a new series to my shelves that I think shows great promise.

Water Keep by J. Scott Savage is the first book in the new Far World series. It follows some pretty well-established themes for fantasy writing: the hero and heroine are orphans who are out of place in the worlds where they find themselves. They have to work together and see beyond their inadequacies to “save the world”, so to speak. Though the underlying themes may be pretty standard, the writing is still fresh and entertaining. It’s a grand adventure and does a great job of drawing in young reader and holding their interest through out.

What caught my eye about it? Well, it wasn’t really the first few paragraphs. It was creepy enough to catch my eye, but it also felt a little bit like jumping into that lake of cold water. I felt a little culture shock as Mr. Savage pulled me into Far World. I stumbled over the new words and descriptions a bit. Really I didn’t realize I’d found a book I could really love until I met the boy Marcus. The minute he came rolling on to the page in his wheelchair I knew he was someone I really wanted to get to know.

I also appreciate the subtly woven in value messages of the story. Magic doesn’t solve everything, but good people with good values can certainly get things done. I loved the way that Kyja is introduced and the way she needs to look inside for her magic. I love that it’s not exactly the kind of magic she is looking for or thinks she wants. One of the greatest messages of the book, for me personally, comes from the following passage. “The real power of magic lies within you. Who you are, what you do, and most importantly of all, what you may become.” Kyja finds herself most when she thinks about others who are important to her, those she loves and those she helps because of her own internal goodness. It’s little stuff, not magnanimous. If she tries to focus more on herself and worry about not being like everybody else around her, she loses her ability to see what is best about herself.

If you know what you’re looking for you can find familiar messages from both the world of fantasy literature and the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are thoughts on helping others just because it’s the right thing to do, and not judging people by the way they look. In fact, one of the mentor characters advises Marcus and Kyja that their weaknesses will become strengths. Hmmm, I wonder where I’ve heard that before? (Ether 12:27)

Water Keep would make a great read for the middle-grades and a good choice for reading aloud at story time as well. Don’t forget the awesome discussion questions at the end. They really bring out the wholesome aspects of the book that society often overlooks.

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Mary & Joseph by Robert Marcum

Since I haven’t done much in the way of decorating or gift-giving or all the other stuff most people do to get in the Christmas spirit, I thought it was about time. So, I picked up a book that had been on my list for a while and had a beautiful few days really getting myself in the mood for the Christmas season.

Mary & Joseph by Robert Marcum is a beautiful retelling of the classic scripture story of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. But it also goes a bit further and explores Christ’s childhood and beyond. It was a very interesting read.

Although I thought Mr. Marcum became a little wordy at some points, it was certainly allowable. His descriptions of the rituals and meanings of the Law of Moses often felt too lengthy and pulled me a little out of the story. However, they were not so overdone to lose me as a reader entirely. It was interesting information for the student in me. I think I also would have preferred the chapter notations that offered even further explanations to be given all together at the end of the book rather than following the actual chapters. That was a little distracting to me as well. It wasn’t that I didn’t want the information, I did, but I didn’t want to step out of the story to get it.

What I loved most about this novel is the depth that Robert Marcum put into the characters. While I can not say if his portrayal of Mary is accurate to whom she really was as a person, I totally adored her as a character in the book: not just as the mother of Jesus, but as a woman I would love to have called friend. He didn’t just retell the scriptures or immerse the reader in the culture and history. Mr. Marcum brought the people to life on the page. It made for a great learning experience and it was nicely uplifting.

Though it was a moving book, both for the spirit of its message and the fact that it was well written, my favorite portion of the book actually came very early. It seemed to speak very clearly of the life and mission of the Savior, both at the time of his mortal life and now as I think about my own life.

Before Joseph even learns of the impending birth, he is discussing the promises of the Messiah with a friend and has this to say.

“I do not question the teachings of the rabbis. Our Messiah will come to rule and reign, but he will come to die for us as well. He must, because if he does not purify Israel with his blood, our momentary freedom from Herod will be buried with us in the grave.”

“But how can he do both?” Matthias asked with some frustration.

“I don’t know how he will do it, Matthias, I only know that he will do it. My fear is that when he does, we will not be ready for him. We will be the ones to afflict him, not the Romans or the Herods. We will refuse him because he does not do it as we supposed he should . . .”

I know there are times in my own life that I definitely feel this way. There are things I want and need, which I am desperately waiting on the Lord for. I wonder sometimes if I’m confusing the how and why with the faith I should have. Am I not noticing what the Lord is trying to do for me, am I rejecting his blessings because they do not seem to come in the way I think they should? How many times has Jesus slipped into my life and I have missed an opportunity because I did not recognize Him? Probably more than I would care to admit.

It was a good reminder at this season and gave me some food for thought as I started to prepare my own celebrations. If you’re looking for the same type of reminder you won’t regret the time spent with Mary & Joseph this Christmas season.

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Creating Clever Castles & Cars by Mari Rutz Mitchell

Still looking for the perfect gift for a younger child? Don’t panic. Go pick up a copy of Creating Clever Castles & Cars from Boxes and Other Stuff by Mari Rutz Mitchell and a stack of large boxes from your local U-haul store. Could it get any easier than that? No angry crowds in the toy aisle and no over-shooting your budget by a mile. Trust me. With Creating Clever Castles & Cars and a bunch of empty boxes, you’re all set for months of great fun that will stay in fashion way longer than the latest action figure or Barbie doll.

Do you remember a few times in your life when you gave a child a gift and they’ve been truly delighted—truly delighted with the box that is? Yep, it never fails, before the television and computer take over our children’s brains they can come up with some of the neatest ideas with the simplest things. I thought this time of year was a good time to mention a book which serves as a great reminder of that. As far as I’m concerned I’ve found the ultimate in rainy day, snowy day, creative play books. Or then again, maybe I just get way too attached to my favorite books! ;)

While going on a library treasure hunt with my home schooled son (we do a lot of variations, but it’s basically choosing a shelf in the library and seeing who can find the coolest books), we ran across this very fun book on kid-friendly playscape building. My kids have turned cardboard boxes into all kinds of things over the years but Creating Clever Castles & Cars turned out to be an awesome collection of really neat ideas. It’s designed for children around 3-8 years old, but my 10 year old son and I are having a blast. His little brother is a tad jealous and can’t wait for his turn at the book when he begins home schooling after Christmas. He’s plotting his first structure all ready.

Here’s a picture of my son’s castle. It looks a little sad now, but he made it over a month ago and we’re still using it, so it’s put off building any more creations (I wanted to build the pyramid next but he wants the pirate ship). But we’re still on the look out for boxes and we’ve been dutifully collecting milk jugs for our igloo. Plus, you just never know when the next cold, yucky day will hit when we’ll need to build an ant hill or a submarine. This book is just full of some of the most awesome recycling ideas I’ve ever seen. It was so cool that I had to break down and buy my own copy. I’d been hording the library’s copy for far too long as we drooled and planned.

See, I wasn’t kidding. I’ve found the ultimate gift for just about any young child on your list. What could be better than giving them a book, except giving them a book that gets them thinking, creating, and excited about something other than their top level on the latest video game?

I think I’ll ask the neighbors to save all of their Christmas boxes, too. We’re going to need them. :)

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Life is like Riding a Unicycle by Shirley Bahlmann

I’ve know Shirley Bahlmann for several years and have always found her to be one of the funnest (yes I know that isn’t a real word) grown-ups I’ve ever had the pleasure of counting as a friend. She loves happiness and sparklies. In fact, her whole personality just sparkles and makes you want to be near her just for the sheer joy she finds in life. So, a few years ago when we were enjoying a book promotion tour together, I wasn’t surprised to hear her announce her intentions to learn to ride a unicycle. In fact, I could totally see it! (And yes, I was a tiny bit jealous. I mean- a unicycle, how cool is that?)

Better yet, not only did Shirley want to learn to ride that unicycle; she wanted to use it as the basis of her next book. Oh, yeah. You can bet that was a book I was excited to get to read. Life is like Riding a Unicycle: Fun Ways to Keep Your Balance When Life Gets a Little Bumpy by Shirley Bahlmann is a fun little book that I recommend for anyone who has woken up with that weird little mid-life-shoulda-coulda-woulda-crisis tugging at the back of their brain. It’s full of stories from real-life people who have taken life by the hands and made the best of whatever their hopes and dreams could lead them to. It talks about raising children in your 40s selling your home to roam the country in an RV (a dream I’m still trying to convince my husband to give in to), learning to dance, exploring creative talents long ago left in the dust. You name it. This isn’t a book full of miraculous but unattainable stories, these are just everyday things that people have finally decided to stop putting of. Life is like Riding a Unicycle is about taking the bull by the horns and hanging on for dear life, but having the time of your life doing it!

I love the different stories, beginning with the first, “Do Lots of Things Badly” and ending with Shirley’s unicycle adventures. The book finishes with Shirley’s account of learning to ride a unicycle after the age of 40. It’s a fun and encouraging read. I love the fact that she lets you know how long it took her to learn, it’s spread out so that you can really see her progress (or lack of it) over time. That’s very encouraging for those of us that get a little impatient with our dreams sometimes. But I gotta say-- how many people can one person possibly be acquainted with that knows how to ride a unicycle? It seemed like Shirley found more than her fair share of people to glean advice and encouragement from. I think that’s just part of being Shirley though, that woman could find a friend in a wax museum. Still, I think I would have quit letting teenage boys on my unicycle it’s far to embarrassing to be shown up by them so often.

There is something for everyone in Life is like Riding a Unicycle, but the overall message is stated best in Shirley’s introduction.

“Sometimes you’ve just plain gotta do what you wanna do. The alternative is to live with regret, and living with regret takes a lot longer and hurts more than doing whatever it is you wanted to do in the first place.

Trust me on this. It’s true.”

That pretty much sums it up, but on a final note, Shirley also included the following quote from Mark Twain.

“Twenty Years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails, explore, dream, discover.”—Mark Twain.

Oh, yeah. This was definitely my kind of book. Thanks for the great read, Shirley!

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Wearing My Bad Mother Badge with Pride

Today has just been one of those days, I guess. Here’s the thing: there have always been two consistent themes in my wishes and desires for my life since early childhood.

1. I always wanted to be an awesome mom.
2. I always wanted to be an awesome writer.

Now, given that these things have spoken to me with such clarity over many, many years, you can be darn tootn’ sure that Satan knows them just as well as I do. So, today he’s dancing a little jig and I’m ready to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head.

I woke up this morning worried about a deadline I had to make today that I still had no clear inspiration about what I was supposed to be doing with it. The day’s more than half over and I think I’ve written 100 out of the 750 words I need. Um, yeah. It’s not going well. This, of course, starts the famous writer snowball effect in which every writing “failure” I’ve ever had and the hopelessness of my future as a writer start doing the sugar-plum fairy thing in my head.

As sorry as that predicament is, it has nothing on my parenting skills for the day. Daughter A woke me up with a text message shortly after midnight to tell me about a problem that had just been resolved. This kept me up for another hour after the conversation ended, worrying about a text message conversation a few days prior to that with Daughter B who was worried that Daughter A was into something very nasty. What worries me is that quite honestly, true or not, there is probably very little I can do about it. I know all teenagers should wear shirts that read “Yes, I have been taught better than this,” but it still keeps me up at night worrying that I have somehow been the cause of their problems through the decisions I’ve made regarding their upbringing. It’s the bane of every mother, but it seems particularly difficult to bare today.

Btw- My daughters live with my parents during the school year which is another one of those tally marks in my bad parenting column when I let myself forget that there are real reasons outside of myself for them to be doing this. It’s easy for me to only associate this situation with other similar ones I’ve been familiar with. In each of those cases, children live with their grandparents because their parents can’t raise them. Yep, another tally mark.

Okay. Next, my autistic son asks if he can cook a frozen pizza. This is nothing new. He knows how to cook all of the foods on his small list of “acceptable” items that will actually enter his mouth. None of them are actually healthy. Another mark.

I came upstairs about 15 minutes later for something totally unrelated and heard him muttering to himself from the kitchen about never eating pizza again. Not a good sign either. The boy means it when he says things like this. I find him in the kitchen using an oven mitt to scoop up his pizza from the bottom of the oven. It took a while to get the story out of him, but he apparently burned his hand and let go of the cookie sheet that burned him, flipping the entire thing over in the oven. This I could not have prevented. What’s bugging me then? I was working on that darn article and did not hear the crash of the pan in the oven to even know there was a problem. He informs me it was rather loud. Another bad mother mark.

Now, for the finale. I was in the kitchen at 1:30 and absently moved aside my other son’s lunch box as it was in my way. Five minutes later it dawned on me that it should not be on the counter at all. My son was at school and it should be with him. That’s right. Precisely one hour after his lunch hour I realized I had totally forgotten to pack my son a lunch for school. No, he didn’t leave it on the counter by mistake. I just completely flaked on fixing one to begin with. I specifically remember him throwing on his backpack and asking if everything he needed was inside. I remember telling him yes. It just never occurred to me that he needed a lunch. Another mark.

See, here’s the thing. Because of some health problems I have been eliminating a lot of things in my life so that I specifically have the energy I need for my children and to write the things that bring me the most joy, not necessarily money. I can’t even claim that I was just too busy and pulled in too many directions. It’s simply been a bad mother badge day. Sigh.

I think I need to lower my standards. How does:

1. A mother whose children managed to grow into stable adults despite her.

And

2. A writer who didn’t go insane.

Sound?

Kate's Turn by Cheri J. Crane

Have you read the “Kate” books by Cheri J. Crane? I’d read some of her later works, but I hadn’t read a lot of these. Kate’s Turn is the first of these books. In Kate’s Turn the reader is introduced to 16 Kate who wants nothing to do with the LDS church her family belongs to. This is a heartbreaking experience for her family and her parents plan a family vacation which they hope will give them the time together to work things out and become closer. Kate, on the other hand, sees the whole adventure as a time to see exactly how miserable she can make her entire family. Yep. Sounds like a typical teenager to me.

I was interested to read this book, because I just so happen to have a 16 year old daughter with a mind of her own. Kate’s Turn was touted as a story for mother’s and daughter’s who were struggling to understand each other and teenagers who were struggling to understand the value of the church in their lives. It promised an “alma the younger turn around” type of conversion story and that’s what I got.

But, I have to say I never found myself really drawn into the story itself. The odd part is I can’t quite put my finger on what it was about the story that didn’t appeal to me. Some of the descriptions definitely date the book as first written for the 80’s and early 90’s, but I can overlook things like that. It wasn’t that it didn’t feel like current issues. It most definitely did. It wasn’t that the characters didn’t ring true in their thoughts and actions. They did. The only way I can describe it is to say that parts of the story felt too, well, calculated. Forced, maybe. All the elements were there and I could see that the things written felt accurate, but I didn’t feel them the way expected to personally. I could read a passage, then look back at it and say “yes, that’s probably what would happen” but still felt it kind of rub at me wrong. Weird.

While I appreciated the approach Ms. Crane takes with providing Kate an opportunity to figure things out I got the feeling the pioneer story was the one she really wanted to share rather than the modern conversion. Does that make sense? Maybe I was just having an “off” couple of days when I read Kate’s Turn, I’m not sure. Like I said, I could appreciate the story and what it brought to the table as far as learning about dealing with doubts and families trials. Ms. Crane deals with some very serious issues in appropriate ways. It was worth my time for those elements. It just didn’t become a book I couldn’t put down. I wanted to love it, but I only appreciated it.

I wouldn’t knock this one completely off your “to read” list if you haven’t read Cheri Crane’s series yet, there is information there to be gleaned, but it may not be the one you want to choose for escape purposes. It will be helpful if you are dealing with teenagers in your own home and I do intend to read a few more volumes. Sometimes writers take a while to truly find the voice that can speak to the reader in the most effective ways. I’m anxious to see not only where Ms. Crane takes Kate’s character next, but I’m also interested to see her mature as an author as well.

I’d be interested to hear from others who have read this series. What did you think? Am I way off base?

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50,000 Words and Miles to Go

Well, it happened. This afternoon I finally crossed the 50,000 word finish line that had been evading me for the last 2 months. The only problem is I have now blatantly confirmed what I'd been suspecting for the last 20,000 words: the story is far from complete. Darn it.

I still have a couple of major scenes to write and my 50,000 word project will probably end up being more like a 70,000 word mountain. Oh well. It's a good thing I actually like the story, or something, so I have to finish it out just to see the good guys win. (So to speak- "winning" is an arbitrary term when it comes to my endings.)

I am still determined to get this sucker finished in the next few weeks, so here we go. It's always nice to know the finish line is moving away from you the closer you get to it. No wonder so many writers (myself included) are psychotic.

There is no rest for those of us who here voices in our heads. Back to the grind stone I go. Wish me luck!

Alison's Nutritious Cookbook Challenge

I had been eyeing a new cookbook I wanted to try for quite some time when I learned that there was actually some controversy surrounding it. (Note: I did not research the validity of the information I received, to me it didn’t matter from that standpoint- it just raised an interesting question for me to explore.) Apparently, two cookbooks built on the same premise came out at almost the same time. It appears that a publisher had actually rejected one title, then accepted the other a month or so later. From the publishing standpoint there are a lot of reasons this may have happened and really, that’s just business. But the whole thing made me curious so I picked up copies of both books and began experimenting.

I began cooking and taste-testing recipes from both Deceptively Delicious and The Sneaky Chef: How to Cheat On Your Man (In the Kitchen!). In case you can’t tell from the names, the premise of both books is basically sneaking “hidden” servings of vegetables (and other healthy ingredients) into your food to improve your family’s health, etc. You basically create purees of the vegetables and cook them into your foods.

For basic concepts I liked Deceptively Delicious’ approach to purees better than The Sneaky Chef, simply because DD’s purees were one ingredient. The recipe might call for a couple of purees but they’d read “½ cup sweet potato puree” and “½ cup carrot puree”, or whatever. I also preferred the spiral binding that let the cookbook open fully and stay on the page I wanted to read, rather than the traditional binding of The Sneaky Chef.

The Sneaky Chef, on the other hand, mixed up her veggies. So, what you saw in the recipe was “½ cup purple puree” and you had to refer back to the puree recipes to find out exactly what was in purple puree. That’s not a problem if that’s all you do, but I’d prefer to make single ingredient purees whenever I had a veggie I needed to use up, rather than having to make sure I had all the ingredients for my “orange puree” whenever I needed to stock my puree freezer. This can really add to your food bill otherwise. (Spinach may be cheap but it takes a lot to make a ½ cup of puree, you’re better off just learning to eat it if your not using up left-overs before they go bad or buying in greatly discounted bulk.) Also, Sneaky Chef tended to use a lot of ingredients that I choose not to use as an LDS cook. I would have loved to do more direct comparison of recipes that both cookbooks featured, but I don’t cook with coffee grounds and red wine.

The recipes in Deceptively Delicious also tend to be more basic “family” recipes. The Sneaky Chef tends to cater to more “grown-up” tastes. (Last minute note: I did not know when I was doing my comparisons that there is actually a “kid’s meals” book by Sneak Chef as well. It didn’t come up on my library searches. This does explain the weird little label on the book that said "Author of The Sneaky Chef" though. At the time I was mighty confused and did a second search under her name: nothing. Curses. If you’ve used the kid version let me know what you thought.)

One last thing I noticed: for books that tout being healthier (which they do appear to be) neither cookbook gives thorough nutritional information. The Sneaky Chef is better at this part but all she does is put bubbles touting “Fiber” or “Omega 3” or whatever. No specifics. I find this very weird.

So, how did the food taste? Um, well mostly okay. I found very few recipes (at least from the ones I tried) that carried a serious yuck factor, but none that just shouted, “this is awesome!” I guess my suggestion would be to choose the one or two foods from the cookbook that most appeals to you, but you don’t already have a favorite recipe for (you’ll just be disappointed that way) and give it a try. This is definitely a case where using the cookbooks can help improve your nutrition and it’s certainly worth trying but you’re better off with the “try before you buy” method in this case. Borrow these from your library before you run out to the bookstore.

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His Holy Name by Dallin H. Oaks

My two boys are being baptized this weekend, so covenants have been on my mind a lot lately. Because of my own ponderings I thought I’d share what I consider to be a classic title from my bookshelf with you.

His Holy Name by Dallin H. Oaks was published in 1998, but it has been a title I’ve referred to many times over the years. It’s a smaller book, but packed with excellent points to ponder.

Elder Oaks writes in the introduction that the book, His Holy Name, came about from his own search for answers on a very important question. When he was called as an apostle he was given a charge to be a special witness for the name of Jesus Christ: not just to testify of Christ but also His name. That’s a very interesting distinction. It cause Elder Oaks to do a lot of thinking, searching, and questioning of other spiritual giants to figure out just what it meant to stand as a witness to the name of Jesus Christ.

One of Shakespeare’s famous questions has to do with a rose smelling just as sweet whether or not it was named rose. It’s an interesting question for any of us. If I were named Sue, or Nancy, would I still be me? Does it matter if my husband calls me by my first name or a pet name? What about how my children address me?

Now, take those same questions and apply them to the way we refer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ. What does it really mean to take upon us the name of Jesus Christ when we are baptized? How do we honor that name? There are many different names applied to Heavenly Father and the Savior of mankind in the scriptures. Does it matter which name we use at any given time? Why are we specifically commanded not to take the names of deity “in vain” and what does that really mean?

Deep stuff, huh? Fortunately, like many things in the gospel, the answers can be simple, deep and poignant, or doctrinally philosophical in nature. It all depends on what we bring to the table. That’s one of the reasons I like Elder Oaks’ book. The answers to these questions could fill hundreds of pages. I get lost in those big doctrinal tomes. I lose the spirit when I read them because I’m so overwhelmed by information. Sure I can find it parts. I can be uplifted and inspired in small chunks, but I’m still a child as far as the nature of the gospel: I prefer purity and simplicity to deep understanding. Give me “Jesus loves me this I know” over “in the sixth year of the reign of the judges. . .” any day.

His Holy Name can satisfy any type of gospel reader, but it is short, sweet and to the point. Elder Oaks asks questions and answers them. Then, he tells you what he’s learned about honoring the name of the Savior and what it means in our covenants and everyday lives. I came away appreciating the Savior more, and understanding my relationship to him more, and that’s the best thing that can be achieved from any title.

If you can get your hands on it, I recommend His Holy Name as a quiet Sunday read that will bring the spirit of the Sabbath to your heart and remind you what your really doing when you go to the temple or take the sacrament. It’s one of the best doctrinal resources I have on my shelf.

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How to Promote Your Home Business by John McLain

I have a confession to make. Much to my husband’s dismay I have been considering starting my own business. It’s a purely selfish venture. I want it only to feed my own addiction to books, but I keep telling myself it actually might be lucrative as well. Uh huh. I really only want it for the books.

On the other hand, most of the “what to do about money” books that I’ve read lately say the only way to have a booming income is to invest or own your own business. Even in these weird economic times if you’ve got a great home business you’re probably still better off than many people who are loosing their jobs left and right.

My weird compulsion to start a business and the thoughts that I’ve had on how to survive when your boss fires you made me very excited to review a new book by John McLain. How to Promote Your Home Business: Free, Easy & Low-Cost Ways to Market Any Enterprise is just the type of resource I’ve been looking for.

How to Promote Your Home Business is short, sweet and to the point. It gave me the “here’s what you need to know” and “here’s how to do it” information I like without a lot of fluff. Mr. McLain is also serious about the “low-cost” aspects of self-promotion. He means it when he says that. I found very few things in there that Mr. McLain recommended spending a lot of money on. Almost everything had a free or very minimal price tag. The only exception was his recommendation to pay for website design rather than trying to figure it all out yourself. Even then, he pointed you in directions that could help you do it yourself. He just also pointed out that this was one area that could get more “interesting” than you wanted it to.

How to Promote Your Home Business is useful for those who own a private business, need to start one, need to find a new career or anyone who has something that needs to be shared with others. Yes, I consider writing among those things. I learned a few things about promoting my books in Mr. McLain’s book as well.

This book talks about how to present yourself in almost any media form. It’s not totally comprehensive, but that’s good. It’s also not overwhelming. Mr. McLain doesn’t spend six chapters telling you how to write a press release, he breaks it down into the KISS method of reasoning. He pays more attention to how to grab someone’s attention than on how to format and phrase every paragraph. For me, that’s a good thing. I’m not so good at following rules if they get to complicated. The good thing though is he doesn’t leave you stranded. If you feel like you need more help or want to investigate things further, he gives you up-to-date resources for that as well.

It covers topics such as:

• Media lists
• Using emails
• Associations and networking
• Cold calling
• Radio, magazine and television ads
• Freebies and bill stuffers
• Extensive information on how to market yourself on the internet.

Another plus about what’s not in the book: It’s not filled up with lots of self-promoting fluff. A lot of times books like this carry an underlying message that says “we’re the experts and you can’t really expect to do things as well as we have so just give us your money and we’ll (sort of) go to work for you too!” How to Promote Your Home Business really does have you in mind.

It’s good stuff that doesn’t waste your time getting to what you need to know. Thanks John McLain for How to Promote Your Home Business. You made my home business idea seem doable on a limited budget. That scares my husband to death but it gets me pretty excited! Take a peak if you have a home business, a book to promote, or just an idea you’ve been tossing around. It might be more doable than you originally thought.

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