Review of Friendship for Grown-Ups

Friendship for Grown-Ups is written by Lisa Whelchel. Whelchel played the character Blair in the 70s TV show The Facts of Life. That is where the story begins.

We are taken through the painful growing process that happens when a teenager is away from family and under the pressure of a weekly TV show. Defense systems are learned to keep one's inner self together in a situation like this. However it is years later after marrying a pastor, having children and living what seems like a charmed life to all who observe that all the wrappings start falling away.

Having good friends,ones that you can say anything to and there is implied confidence is rare. As Ms Whelchel discovers they are not easy to find or cultivate. She has long learned how to be a friend supportive, non-judgmental and confidential but has a great problem receiving the like. We are brought through her search for the right person to be her very closest of friends. it is a reminder to all of us why we cannot have lots of very, very close friends.

Friendship has a number of elements that can both burn people out and have them become judgmental. Ms Whelchel points out to us that not every one has the energy and resources to be the kind of friend she needed. She struggles with this in much of the book. It is a learning process of becoming a friend to herself as well.

This is an easy reading book that may make you grab a tissue once in a while as it is heart wrenching at times. As a reader you will learn a great deal about yourself and what type of friend you are to different people.

This book was provided to me by the publisher through a program called Book Sneeze. My review was not influenced by any person or company.

Plan B by Pete Wilson

Plan B by Pete Wilson has some great insights on how we view our lives. the premise of the book is that life does not always proceed as planned, so you need a Plan B. He references many familiar Old and New Testament stories to point out that the Bible is full of people who had to examine Plan B as a part of their faith in God.

Wilson must be wonderful from the pulpit as he knows how to take the stories of thousands of years and place them in today's context. He points out that people have been lying and cheating their fellow man since the beginning of time. This has made for adjustment of life or Plan B in order to survive. It appears that Plan B plays a huge roll regarding your faith in God. Some thing that is often difficult to remember when Plan A is upset is that you are not alone in what you are experiencing.

An extended look it taken with the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. We follow him through his life and see how he learns to roll with the punches as a sign of hos faith. It is faith that gets up to transition to Plan B.

I asked Mr Wilson by way of Twitter if Plan B ever becomes Plan A. His response was "I think so."

I enjoyed this book immensely. It is well worth your time so that you can identify with your own Plan B. The author is still a young man. I hope to see take to pen Plan B Part II 20 years from now. Plan B is a growing process.

The book Plan B by Pete Wilson was provided to me by the publisher through Book Sneeze. the opinion I have written is my own and has not been influenced any person of company.

Will reducing clutter save my sanity?

What does reducing clutter do for the average person. I am not talking about cleaning up a hoarding situation. Although I have seen a few episodes of these shows and wonder.

The first thing I know is that it cannot be a fix-it-in-a-weekend solution. All of the clutter I have around my house did not just arrive last weekend and cannot be expected to go that quickly. On the Clean House and Hoarding types of shows much anxiety seems to ocure because of the quick and drastic changes insisted on for what I can only imagine are production purposes. A steady daily process seems to suite my needs right now.

I do have a deadline of sorts and there are mini deadlines in between. Our neighborhood has an annual garage sale usually in June. I plan to participate. I know that I need to have enough stuff out there to make it worth my while to sell it. After the sale runs to Goodwill are planned to get rid of the rest of it. I really wanted my home picked up for Easter. Alright at least the living room, dining room and kitchen needed to be neat. I challenged myself to put things away and not just bag it up and ditch it in another room. Each room had a 30 gallon trash bag filled and there were several garage sale boxes filled for each too. It is far from done, but what a start.

Now that the kids are growing up I am getting rid of the toys. For many years I held on to things that I knew the next child would want. Some were good choices and some not so great. When my parents downsized prior to retirement they gave me the inheritance of a lot of games. Few were ever played in this household. Most of the classics I had already acquired. These too are going to the garage sale.

There are some things that go out of style. Hundreds of 5 1/4 inch floppy discs are gone as are there cousins the 3 1/2 discs. Many hours of music have been put on the hard drives of the household and the CDs will have a special place in the sale. The same goes for collectibles that we are not into so much an more. There are boxes of Barbie Dolls and dishes.

Harder parts of the reduction of stuff process will come as part of my craft stuff. just when I think I an ready to get rid of something there is new inspiration to try something new. Saw A blog the other day about painted metal flowers. the blogger went out and bought a dollar store tin to do it. I have at least 3 Boy Scout popcorn tins in my sale bin, (should the return to the craft pile?)

Some other blogs have suggested well beyond the guidelines of get rid of what you have not used in a year or two by talking about moving. Not just a small move but as if you were going overseas. What would you get rid of? I always thought that is what storage units were all about. I do not know that I could do that at this point but the thought sticks in my mind as I work through the things I have not seen in years.

I do know one thing for sure. I am keeping little for sentimental reasons. Those things I have to really like to keep. Grandma's Cocoa set is definitely staying. Her bedspread is gone. The souvenir drink glasses from Hawaii, I would love to bring back there to refill (they said the refill is free) but I think if I ever get back there, I will just get another glass. Just in case you were wondering... The husband I will keep!

Some of the additional goals I keep in mind while getting rid of stuff are powerful. There are parts of the house I have never used the way I envisioned 15 years ago when we bought it. Mostly they were used as storage and not useful family space. There are a lot of new things I want to try. I need the room to try them. Sometimes when i look at these spaces the stuff is so overwhelming that I just want to quit. I do not want to feel like that about parts of my home.

Onward and upward, there are more boxes to fill.

Popes & Bankers - A Review

Jack Cashill has hit a home run with this book. Popes & Bankers is a methodical review of how society has used money throughout the bible and beyond. It is a book I have now read twice and find that I realize more each time I turn a page about the function of money. Money means power and he who has the money has the power.

An amazing series of events has occurred in history in a struggle to control that power. Just as strong have been the forces to keep the accumulated power. The biblical references are powerful. Although the book is a study in money it is also a students reflection on the topic.

If you ever really wondered how the world acquired the tremendous financial difficulties that now seem to plague us, you need to read this book.





Popes and Bankers was provided to me by the publisher for an unbiased review.

Book Review: A Century Turns

A Century Turns by William J. Bennett is an interesting adaptation of history by this renowned historian. As he notes in the introduction he lived this period of history. It is interesting to see how the political machine has changed over the past 20 years. Along with that the way the politicians have communicated with the nation has evolved as well. The book is well annotated with 45 pages of references in the back. Footnote space in the book adds his eye witness stories of the time. It is clear to see who have been our strong leaders in light of what the nation and world has challenged them. It is a difficult book to read if your political viewpoint differs from the author. The book is worth the purchase for the three dozen photographs included. In a few pages there is a terrific colorful view of the 1988-2008 time period.

I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Coffee Fail!

A while back there was an opportunity to receive Tasters Choice coffee samples from Nescafe. Knowing that this sample was typically in a convenient tube shaped package, I thought it might be a match for my new Starbucks travel coffee mug. This mug features slots along the side to hold your instant coffee for Starbucks VIA coffee on the run (from your very own kitchen not the cafe.)

The samples came today in some very nice varieties including Original, Gourmet Roast, 100% Colombian, Hazelnut, Vanilla and Decaffeinated. A $1 coupon for a 20 count stick pack of coffee was included as well. You can print a coupon here at Taster's Choice.

The surrounding packaging showed me that they had already thought about the competition with Starbucks VIA coffee.

Unfortunately, Taster's Choice is not packaged quite as small as the VIA and therefore will NOT easily fit into the mug slots ready to go like the VIA. This was a huge disappointment to me. I was really hoping to have the variety at my fingertips the way Starbucks suggests.

I guess this would be an opportunity for Nescafe to either make packages to fit the Starbucks coffee cup or market their own to go cup. If you are listening Nescafe, please consider a handle on your cup and maybe room for a few more ounces of coffee.

Make It New Weekend

Looking around my home I have some great things that I never use or wear anymore. They need to be fixed. Make this a FOR You weekend and Fix Or Repair the things you already have and love.

Check out your closet. Do you need to sew on a button? Here is a video from threadbanger.com to show you how



This is the weekend to finally change the burnt out light bulb in your closet. Set out that step stool and get to it. Consider using a CFL bulb to save energy in the long run and to keep from having to do the job again soon as these have a longer life. In a tight space consider using a compact CFL. there are even great options for fancier dining room lights, check them out at the local home improvement store. Here is a link to coupons to get you started from GE.

Give yourself the freedom to move the sofa. We know that it is only in that odd spot to cover up a stain in the carpet. The folks at RealSimple have some ideas on how to rid of them. Give it a try you might like the sofa in a spot where you can actually see the TV.

When all of this is done enjoy the wealth of your weekend and the new-old things that you can enjoy. Let me know what you want to Fix Or Repair next time.