Reinventing Rachel

How was your Thanksgiving? Mine was...interesting. I think that's the correct word. I had several great meals and saw plenty of family that I love to spend time with. There were some other interesting events in the last four days, but I know that God is with me all the way. On the way out to my father's on Friday, we were surprised to see the most amazing sunset. The sky was a deep reddish orange, and there was a distinct beam of light from the center going straight up into the clouds. It was a once in a lifetime experience of beauty, and it has held me up over the course of the last twenty-four hours. I am so grateful that my God loves me, loves those I struggle with, and carries us both through until we can work through our hurt and come together again. In the midst of the pain, I have much to be thankful for.

Reinventing Rachel by Alison Strobel is a thoughtful look at the fall of a staunch Christian re-evaluate her life and decide to run away from it all, including the Lord. Rachel Westing is one of those church members that if the doors are open, she's there. From her ministry with teenage girls, to her job at the local coffee shop, she's always looking for a way to evangelize those around her. When she discovers in rapid succession that her parents are divorcing, her father is bipolar, her mentor is going into rehab for prescription drug addiction, and her fiance has been cheating on her with her roommate, Rachel has had enough of California and the pain and moves in with her childhood friend Daphne in Chicago. Daphne has always lived life on her own terms, living for the moment and resisting Rachel's best attempts to save her soul. Rachel feels betrayed that God failed to fix her problems despite all of the work she'd done for him, so when she leaves California, she tries to leave God as well. Daphne's life of no strings attached and fun all the time is seductive to Rachel at first, but when Daphne starts acting strangely and the utilities are turned off for lack of payment, she begins to turn to alcohol to block out the fear and depression she's felt since leaving home. Strobel excels at writing sympathetic characters, even when they are doing unreasonable things, and she carefully keeps that tension alive here. Readers will like Rachel, even when she starts making terrible decisions and through her selfishness.SPOILERS: Strobel keeps her from becoming a victim, nor does she ever become shrill or unlikable. For Christians, the book will serve as a clarion call to ensure that the God we are worshiping is the true one, not a vengeful eye in the sky, nor does He require a checklist of duties to be done each day and in return He will keep us completely safe. Strobel has a firm grasp of who God really is, and she imparts that to readers without becoming too preachy or pedantic. Rachel's spiral into addiction and despair is often hard to read, but Strobel keeps the story interesting and the plot suspenseful. Strobel is an author to watch in the future, as she seems to be getting better and better.

Thank you to the author for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

Scarecrow Finds a Friend

November 1st kicks off National Novel Writing Month. Five years ago a friend of mine told me about it, and I signed on hoping to make the most of a book idea I'd had. By the end of the month I'd written over 30,000 words in the book that is now at over 200 pages. But I've blocked on finishing it, so this year, I'm starting fresh.

I've only signed up to do a few blog tours this month in order to focus on my own writing instead of someone else's, so I may not be posting as often. I'm hoping by November 30th, I'll be finished or at least close.

If You Only Knew is a novel taking place over 24-48 hours as the Dutcher family is forced to the realization that none of them know each other as well as they thought they did. The answers will change them all forever. I'll post occasional excerpts, and I look forward to your feedback!

Scarecrow Finds a Friend written by Blume R. Rifken and illustrated by Carl W. Wenzel is a perfect story to kick off the holiday season. Scarecrow is enjoying the Thanksgiving season when his good friend Tally the witch comes to him with a problem. Mia's thoughts first: This was a really good book; I liked it. I thought it was neat that Scarecrow and Tally had the same wish, and his plan was really cool. The pictures were pretty cool and how they went along with the words. My favorite picture is the cover with Tally and Scarecrow. Now my review: Wenzel's beautiful watercolor illustrations really make the whole story come to life. The homegrown scenes of fields and harvest set the stage of this terrific story about friendship, and Tally's wildly colored clothing and jewelry make her stand out. Rifken tells a sweet story of friendship and sacrifice all without preaching. I would love to see more of the story of Scarecrow trick-or-treating which is only touched upon here. The books is a great reminder of all we have to be thankful for this season.

Thank you to Paula Krapf at Author Marketing Experts for providing me with a copy of this book!

Molly and Mia's persuasive powers prevailed; we will be getting a rat terrier puppy tomorrow night. It belonged to Molly's boyfriend's family and was the last of the litter. Molly fell in love with the little guy and somehow talked Jesse and I into letting her get him. It will be an interesting lesson for Molly in responsibility. She will be paying for Buffalo Bill, nicknamed Bill, as well as his neutering and shots, and she will take on more responsibility around the house to ensure that it's a safe environment for him. Both girls are over the moon with excitement. Me, not so much. I'll post pictures tomorrow when he arrives.

Mindless Eating

Molly and I braved the crowds this morning and went to Wal-Mart at 4:30 am. Wal-Mart really has this down to a science. They allowed the crowds to come in and wait in the warm store, but customers weren't allowed to put anything in their carts until 5 am. Jesse's Christmas present to me was a Sony Cyber Shot camera, 7.2 mp, which is a huge improvement over my 2 mp Kodak that's five years old. We zipped through the store and were back in the van by 5:30. We drove up the road to KMart, which didn't open until 6. They didn't open the doors until 6, leaving us all in the 7 degree temperatures. When the door did finally open, people were racing down the aisles. We got one of the last three DVD players, and they were almost completely out of the cheap DVDs. We were home again by 7 am, and I made cinnamon rolls to wake up the guys. Mia was, of course, already awake. Doogie & Jesse spent the day cleaning out the basement so that the computer can be kept down there. Our little bedroom just doesn't quite have enough room to hold a queen sized bed, two bookshelves, nightstand, computer desk, and my baskets of books. It looks great down there now, and Doogie is completely set up with Gamecube, DVD player, VHS, radio, phone, computer, and plush rocking chair. We may never see him again.

Yesterday's meal at my mom's was great. I made my double layer pumpkin cheesecake, Mom made lots of the necessities: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and Jake made his fruit salad. We watched the Packers stomp the Lions (whoo-hoo) and screamed at the TV between bites of food. I don't ever have the kids on Thanksgiving (it's part of the custody agreement, in return I always have them on Easter), but their dad brought them home last night. Jesse worked on homework while the three kids and I curled up on the couch together and watched Ratatouille. Fantastic movie, but I never could get my mind around the idea of rats touching the food. I have a strong suspicion that the movie is going to end up under the tree Christmas morning (along with Meet the Robinsons).

Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink is a scientific view at why we eat the way we do and how we can change it to be healthier. I read some of Wansink's work in a recent TIME Magazine article, and I was hooked. I know that our emotions tend to control what and how much we eat, but I had no idea just how much our environment affects it. This is not a diet book, but Wansink offers several ideas for changing your mindset to encourage healthy weight loss. A few facts: we tend to want to eat the same amount of volume of food to feel full. If air or water is added to make the food appear larger, we will eat the same amount and feel just as full. Three year olds will eat until they are sated. Five year olds will eat the amount of food put upon their plate because they assume that it is the appropriate amount. If you are eating with 2 people, you will eat 50% more food than if you were eating alone. If you are eating with 7 or more people, you'll eat 96% more food than if alone. You'll eat more M&Ms in a bowl with 10 colors than with 7 colors. Wansink has done the most amazing experiments to determine why we eat the way we do, and it's a fascinating read. I couldn't put it down, and ended up reading much of it out loud to my husband. Wansink says if we add or subtract 100 calories a day to our diet, our body won't really notice, but it will mean the difference between gaining or losing a half pound a week. If we up the weight loss too much, our metabolism slows down making it harder to lose weight. Great ideas are included to change our eating habits and lose weight without noticing it. 50/50 plating of food: half of the plate should be protein and starch, the other half should be fruits or vegetables. Use smaller plates and taller glasses. I love this one: put ice in your drinking water. Your body has to work to warm up the water so if you drink 8-8 oz glasses of ice water a day, you'll burn 70 calories just from burning up the ice, and you won't even notice it! This is an idea even I can implement! Wansink writes like someone you'd love to invite to dinner for his scintillating conversation, as long as he wasn't watching what you ate!

Still no noticeable effects from the Enbrel, but I've been running pretty hard the last few days. And the Christmas decorations are sitting in the living room, so I guess I'll be putting those up this weekend. I hope you enjoy yours!