Book Review: Triumph!

Katie August 1, 2014 0 Comments

Triumph! is a series of stories about Athletes of Faith.  The book is broken down into several sections: Trusting, Rejoicing, Inspiring, Understanding, Meditating, Praising and Honoring.  There are just about 100 athletes featured from all different sports.  The book tells about how their believe in God has helped them excel and deal with the pressures of being a professional athlete.  It is great to see how many athletes are open about their faith and willing to share stories to help others through this book and in their every day life.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Winning really does matter—when you’re describing the game of life. Here are more than 100 compelling stories of athletes and their faith walk. New from Pat Williams, vice president of the NBA’s Orlando Magic and author of more than 70 books, Triumph! Powerful Stories of Athletes of Faith provides short, easy-to-read entries on baseball, basketball, football, and other players, some you already know and others worth knowing. Featuring names like Kurt Warner, Mickey Mantle, Tony Dungy, David Robinson, Andy Pettitte, and many more, Triumph!describes the Trusting, Rejoicing, Inspiring, Understanding, Meditating, Praising, and Honoring aspects of truly victorious athletes.

Sunday Post

Katie July 27, 2014 0 Comments

Sunday Post

Katie July 20, 2014 0 Comments

Book Review: Sticky Fingers

Katie July 18, 2014 0 Comments

If you read the blog you know I’m always looking for new crafty things to try out.  I’ve never made anything out of duct tape before (aside from taping it to paper for a scrapbook layout and I’m not sure that actually counts.) and I’ve always wanted to try it out.  This book should help me find a project to do as well as show me how to do it! The first chapter tells you what you need to get started, the second chapter is all about setting up your work station.  Chapter 3 is all about the basics and different types of strips that you can make with the tape, pouches, etc.  Chapter 4 is quick crafts – flowers, bows, etc.  Chapter 5 is all about wallets and the different types you can make (I had no idea there were different types). Chapter 6 is purses, bags and cases.  Chapter 7 is wearable duct tape – pins, lanyards, belts, etc. Chapter 8 is things you can use at school like bookmarks and pencil cases.  9 is things for your room – baskets, frames, etc. And Chapter 10 teaches you how to use every last bit of the roll.

Each project is ranked with a skill level of 1 to 5 circles and also the estimated amount of time it should take you to complete it.  Materials needed are listed right at the top and there are photos to show you how you should be moving along in the project.

I wasn’t able to do any projects right away because I didn’t have any tape handy, but I’ve bookmarked a few projects for future consideration.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Sticky Fingers is a vibrant, easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide to creating amazing projects with the hottest crafting material on the market today duct tape! The book includes tons of photographs alongside directions designed to make creating a wallet and making a bag even easier, while also providing a steady stream of ideas for personalizing and embellishing your duct tape creations. Each project includes icons showing difficulty level and project time, as well as helpful hints, such as how to keep your scissors clean and what to do with end pieces. So grab a roll of duct tape, pick a project, and get started!

Sunday Post

Katie July 13, 2014 0 Comments

How Do You Find Out About New Music?

Katie July 9, 2014 0 Comments

A lot of people assume that just because I go to a lot of concerts, when I’m not at a show I must have music constantly playing.  While this may have been the truth several years ago, lately I don’t listen to music much at all.  If a new album comes out, I’ll listen to it in the car on the way to/from work and maybe listen to it at work once or twice as well.  Otherwise, I listen to Top 40 radio on the way to and from work and that’s about it.

While trying to figure out content for the blog that is more music focused, I realized just how out of the loop I am.  I used to go to a lot more local music shows that had 800 openers before who I was there to see and while a lot of them were just starting out and probably nothing to write home about, every now and then you’d find a gem.  For whatever reason these types of shows aren’t really on my radar much anymore so I don’t know much about who may be up and coming until it’s too late – they’re already on Top 40 radio and on the verge of being over played.

Then I realized another problem – I record several TV shows that have musical acts nearly every day – The Tonight Show w/ Jimmy Fallon, Late Night w/ Seth Meyers and VH1 Morning Buzz now that Nick Lachey is hosting.  This could easily expose me to some new acts – maybe some I’ll even fall in love with – but I find myself stopping the show before the musical act is on if it is someone that I’ve never heard of! Totally defeating the purpose of trying to find new music and I am trying to make a better effort to actually watch the entire show or at least give the musical guest a few minutes to try and catch and keep my attention.

(I also was alerted to this article which says radio IS the way most people find out about new music!)

So that brings me to my question – how do YOU find out about new music and bands?

Try It Tuesday: Peanut Butter Balls

Katie July 8, 2014 0 Comments

I guess this post is one of the pinterest failed or “nailed it!” posts that seem to be going around the internet.  A while back I saw a peanut butter ball on pinterest that looked delicious and had peanut butter and chocolate chips around the side.  When I saw the peanut butter chips at the store I decided to pick them up to make the ball – not having checked out the ingredients before hand.  Well, the recipe on pinterest had cream  cheese in it and basically if I made it I’d be the only one eating it because the rest of my family would have flipped out if they found out it had cream cheese in it.  So, rather than try and be deceiving I decided to modify my go-to Peanut Butter Fudge recipe and instead of putting it in to a dish to harden and cut into squares, I’d instead roll it in a ball and then roll it in the mixture of peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Well, that was quite a fail as the recipe called for more powdered sugar than we actually had in the house.  What we had was close – but unfortunately not close enough to make it thick enough to grab and roll. So instead I used a cookie scooper to make “balls” and then dropped the chips on top.  Once they were in the fridge for a while and hardened they really weren’t that bad tasting, but they sure did look bad.

Here’s the Alton Brown recipe I typically use for Peanut Butter Fudge that is really, really good.

Sunday Post

Katie July 6, 2014 0 Comments

Dong Bang Sin Ki

Book Review: Mai Tai for Two

Katie July 4, 2014 0 Comments

Mai Tai For Two is a Harlequin Red Hot Read from Cosmo – which if you’ve been around the blog for a while, you know are my favorites to read.  These books are short so they get to the point quickly and are always a good read. In Mai Tai For Two – Julie and her “work husband” have won an all expenses paid trip to Hawaii.  How convenient.  Julie and Alan both have feelings for each other, but haven’t really acted on it (although they did kiss at a Christmas party.)  The two end up hooking up and trying to keep things a secret – but considering Julie’s bestie is also on the trip, she has an idea that something is going on between them.  The hook up seems really awkward especially considering these two are supposedly pretty good friends.

While I typically love these books, this one was a bit of a miss.  I just couldn’t get in to the characters. Not as big of a flop as some of the other romance novels I had read, but not my favorite of the red hot reads by any means. But if you are looking for something quick to read and don’t care about relationship details being hashed out in the story – then you’ll probably have no problem with this book.

I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review. I was not otherwise compensated.

About the Book

Julie’s Hawaiian Vacay Itinerary!

You and your “work husband” have just won an all-expenses-paid vacation in Oahu. Now the fun begins…

1. Get lei’d. (With flowers, obvi.)
2. Settle into your gorgeous ocean-side cabin. Contemplate living in Hawaii forever.
3. Become overwhelmed with hideous unexplained jealousy when your bestie decides to make sexy moves on your work husband, Alan.
4. Dismiss jealousy. After all, you’re not interested in Alan “that” way…are you?
5. Avoid joyous dancing when bestie’s ex arrives and sweeps her off her feet—leaving Alan completely and totally available.
6. Now you’re alone with Alan. Alone. In paradise. Take a deep breath, have a mai tai—or two—and (gulp!) make your move. Be classy.
7. “Accidentally” let Alan peek under your grass skirt.
8. Take off grass skirt.
9. Do Incredibly Naughty and Sexy Things everywhere.
10. And do not think about what happens when you and your work husband go back to reality….