It's been one of those weeks (but now it's giveaway time!)

As I mentioned before, my dear sweet hubby started a new job this week...a job that was long awaited and thankfully received. However, it hasn't made for an exceptionally easy week. After a short, easy day of paperwork on Monday, he has now worked three 13-hour days and one 11-hour day this week, with another day to go on Saturday. He's dead on his feet and I feel like a single mom - especially on Tuesday, when he went straight from work to school and we didn't see him at all until bedtime.

Needless to say, his increased hours are cutting into my free time, but I can't complain. Training is rough, but it won't always be this way. In fact, we learned today that he'll be in training for two more weeks and then...he'll have his very own sales route. This is BIG NEWS, since he's been in position-lingo since signing on, aware that he may be working in the warehouse indefinitely until a route becomes available. Five days into the job, and he has a route!! A route means more flexibility in hours (after he's finished training, of course), his own company truck, and more money, since he'll earn commission off of his stores. His new route is no slouch, either - several grocery stores, lots of convenience stores, but I'm excited that he has Sam's Club and Target. Big sellers = probability of good commissions. Yes, I'm thrilled - and even more so since he's truly enjoying his new job. I can't tell you what a welcome change that is!

Anyway, the newfound lack of free time (during normal waking hours, at least) is the reason why I didn't get around to my next review and giveaway until now. Hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Do you remember this picture from last weekend?

This is my brand new, wonderfully pink cosmetic case from miss lucy's monograms! (Miss Lucy herself is an adorable little black pup who you simply must meet - just click on her about me page to learn all about her...and her faithful owner, Debbie, too. I just love supporting a small business, and especially one with such an adorable namesake!)

So, my bag! Milly immediately christened it "the Minnie Mouse bag", and it's not hard to see why. If it were red instead of pink, it would be spot on...er, no pun intended. It's pink and polka-dotted and shiny and just perfect in its girliness - something that I'm surrounded by every day, but don't splurge on very often for myself. (If you tend toward the less in-your-face-girly, this case is also available in black/white and brown/white polka dots.)

Inside the case...


See the Pearberry lotion lying in the bottom there? That's a full sized number from Bath & Body Works - yes, I love it, but I mainly threw that in to show you guys how roomy this case is! It measures 8.5" x 6.5" x 6", which is plenty large enough for all of your makeup, lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush...all of the essentials! There are handy pockets on the back and side, with loops on the other side to help hold things in place. Nifty little looped pockets inside the lid are meant to hold makeup brushes, but since I'm not a big user of makeup brushes, I use it to hold lip gloss, concealer, even a small bottle of perfume. As you can see, I have quite a bit stored in my Minnie Mouse bag already, and there's still plenty of room for more.

There are only two problems you're going to run into when shopping at miss lucy's.

1) Choosing what to buy. Everything is so stinking cute! And she does have everything that you could possibly monogram - bags for your makeup, laundry, laptop, diapers, and books, baby and bridal gifts, towels, aprons, Bible covers - I mean everything, and I'd happily accept one of each. I've got a wish list as long as my arm!

2) Once you finally decide what you want - and assuming that you want it monogrammed, since monograms are free - you have to decide on a monogram style. Will you go with classic or curly or boxy or your full name or your name overlapped with an initial or or or or... And once you have THAT down, there's still a font and a thread color to choose. AHHH, the choices!!

If you survive the process, there's some relief in knowing that your item will a) be gorgeous and b) arrive really quickly. Unpacking my box was like unwrapping a gift from Lucy, complete with tissue paper and a darling raffia bow tied to the handle with care instructions. I just loved the attention to detail - you just don't get that from big companies!

Yes, I am a big, big fan of miss lucy's monograms now. I think this wallet has my name on it next, and it's on sale too - as are LOTS of her items right now. Be sure to check them out!

Now that you're ready to go shopping...how would like a little spending money to use at her site?!


Prize: Miss Lucy has generously offered one lucky blog reader a $20 gift certificate (emailed as a coupon code) to her store (merchandise only; shipping is extra.)

To enter: There's a two-part mandatory entry for this one! First, visit Miss Lucy's site and sign up for her newsletter (look near the bottom of the left column.) Then, "like" Miss Lucy on Facebook. There, that wasn't so bad, was it? Leave me a comment to let me know that you're all done, and that's your entry! As always, please be sure to leave your email address with your comment so I can contact you if you win.

That's the mandatory entry, but here are some ways to earn extra entries as well. Each one is worth one additional entry unless otherwise noted; please leave one comment per entry, and don't forget your email address!

Additional entries:

• Look around miss lucy's monograms and tell me what you'd buy with your $20!
• Tell me something you learn from Miss Lucy's site that I didn't get around to in my review!
  
• Follow June Cleaver Would Be Shocked via GFC.
• "Like" June Cleaver Would Be Shocked on Facebook. (+2)
  
• Follow me on Twitter. (+2)
• Snag my button (top right of this page) and add it to your blog. Leave a link in your comment! (+3)
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link! (+2)
• Tweet about this giveaway - may be done once per day.
• Subscribe to this blog via email - just look near the top right for that too. :)
• Comment on another of my posts (let me know which one!)
  

Contest ends: 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, February 13. Winner will be chosen by random number generator and emailed immediately. Please contact me within 48 hours to claim the prize, or a new winner will be chosen.

That's it! Happy shopping, and good luck! :)

Read This: Out Live Your Life (Max Lucado)

I've recently been on a Max Lucado kick - I just can't get enough of his books these days, and luckily, my dad owns a bunch of them that I have every intention of working my way through (thanks, Dad!) My church's lending library has a pretty impressive collection of his books as well, and I haven't found one yet that I didn't love.

It all started a couple of months ago when I received a copy of Out Live Your Life. The text on the back cover was a bit grim: "These are devastating times: 1.75 billion people are desperately poor; one billion are hungry. Lonely hearts indwell our neighborhoods and attend our schools. In the midst of it all, here we stand..." The first chapter highlights more of the sad situations we're faced with every day - and is what inspired my previous post about attending an adoption conference.

But the entire book is not gloom and doom - rather, a challenge to stand up and make a difference. To care for others, to help them, to live in such a way that we make an impact that lingers long after we're gone.

Lucado focuses primarily on the book of Acts, on the faith and works of the early church and how they impacted Christianity forever. Even more, there are inspiring stories in each chapter of how normal people - people like the disciples (fishermen and tax collectors), people like you and I - have made a difference. Some of the stories are simply amazing. Being a bit of a music nerd, I was enthralled by the story in chapter 16, wherein a renowned violinist wore jeans and a t-shirt and played for forty three minutes in a Washington, D.C. metro station. A musician who packs concert halls, with only "fairly good" tickets selling for $100 per seat, made only $32.17 that morning - and only person of the 1,097 who passed by recognized him.

What does this have to with outliving your life? Well, Max explains... "No one expected majesty in such a context. Shoe-shine stand to one side, kiosk to the other. And who had time? This was a work day. Most of us will someday realize that we didn't either. From the perspective of heaven, we'll look back on these days - these busy, cluttered days - and realize, That was Jesus playing the violin. That was Jesus wearing the ragged clothes. That was Jesus in the orphanage...in the jail...in the cardboard shanty. The person needing my help was Jesus."

It's easy to make a monumental difference if you have unlimited resources. How cool would it be to hop on an airplane and fly to Africa, to help build houses and cuddle orphans and share the gospel? But I can't afford that plane ticket...and even if I could, who would watch my children while I was gone? Gene certainly couldn't take off from work for that long to watch them, or to go with me. What I can do, what most people can do, is - to some degree - limited by their personal situations.

But we can make a difference in small ways every day, and that's what this book encourages us to do. Maybe someday I'll be able to do help people in huge, amazing ways - but there's no reason not to start now, doing what I can, when I can...and hope that you do too.

Need inspiration? Encouragement? Ideas? I highly recommend Out Live Your Life - as the book's subtitle says, "you were made to make a difference", and you'll be ready to do just that by the time you finish the last chapter.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in return for an honest, objective review on my blog. I honestly loved this book and am happy to have it as a permanent addition to my library - and can't wait to read the rest of Lucado's books!

HERE IT IS!!!

Only the longest-in-coming giveaway in the history of blogdom, right? Sorry about that. You guys should see my to-do list lately...it's just plain scary.

Anyway.

I was recently sent something very interesting...I had heard of it and was intrigued by it, but probably would have never bought them for myself. I mean, it's just a little counter-intuitive to wash your clothes with something called Soap Nuts.


And I'll admit, seeing them in person didn't do much to ease that "what the heck" sensation. They arrived from Greener Living in a canvas drawstring bag - very eco-friendly looking (which, after all, they are.) Inside were several smaller drawstring bags (like the one pictured above) and, inside a ziploc bag, a big pile of sticky brown nuts that smelled a bit like vinegar.

My first impressions were:

1. I don't want my laundry to smell like vinegar.
2. I don't want to touch those things!
3. They're supposed to get my clothes clean how?

Well. I'll address #3 first. You throw a few of the soap nuts into the little drawstring bag and toss it in the washing machine. No other detergent, now - these are your detergent. You won't see suds while the washer is filling, but agitation in the water causes a soap-like substance to be emitted from the soap nuts. Not as much as with regular powder or liquid detergent, but enough to clean your clothes. Or so they say.

On to #2. I really didn't want to touch them, as they actually looked sticky. But I did it anyway - I was too intrigued not to at least give them a try. So I reached in and gingerly picked out a few near the top...and they really weren't very sticky after all. Just shiny, which I suppose I equated to sticky. So I threw a few in the little bag, tied it up, and tossed it into a small load of laundry. Probably some of the kids' clothes, since they're not as picky about the scent of their clothes as I tend to be.

And in the end (I'm really going backward here - here's #1), they came out of the wash smelling...clean. Not like vinegar, not even a hint of it. Not flowery-springtime like most detergents either, just...wet and clean. It defies description, really, until you try it - and here's why you should.

Not only are these things mega cool because they're so different, but they're also environmentally friendly (USDA certified organic, even.) No added dyes, fragrances, etc., means they're a safe bet for people with eczema, allergies or sensitivities to regular detergents. Not to mention that they last forever. You can use each tiny drawstring bag of soap nuts several times - I use mine about four times, on average. The Greener Living website says that at a rate of one load of laundry per day (and who doesn't have that much?), one bag will last you six months. Yes, one bag is $22 - but do the math. One bottle of Tide is $9 or so, and might last a month if you're lucky.

Sooo, you can click here and buy all the Soap Nuts you want (as well as other cool things like the Soap Nuts Bath Bar that they were also kind enough to send me to sample - once again, it doesn't have dyes or fragrances and doesn't leave me smelling as girly as I'd otherwise like, but man did it leave my skin soft!)

OR, you can WIN some Soap Nuts of your very own! How do you do that, you ask? Well, here you go.

To enter: Visit Greener Living Soap Nuts and comment here, telling me one thing you learned about Soap Nuts that I didn't cover in this post. I really did leave out a lot - they're fascinating little things. Go forth and learn! And be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you win.

That's the mandatory entry, but here are some ways to earn extra entries as well. Each one is worth one additional entry unless otherwise noted; please leave one comment per entry, and don't forget your email address!

Additional entries:

• Follow June Cleaver Would Be Shocked via GFC. (+2)
• "Like" Greener Living Soap Nuts on Facebook. (+2)
  
• "Like" June Cleaver Would Be Shocked on Facebook.
• Follow me on Twitter. (+2)
• Follow Soap Nuts on Twitter.
  
• Snag my button (top right of this page) and add it to your blog. Leave a link in your comment! (+5)
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me a link! (+3)
• Tweet about this giveaway - may be done once per day.

Contest ends: 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday, October 20. Winner will be chosen by random number generator and emailed immediately. Please contact me within 48 hours to claim the prize, or a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck! :)

At least I still make time to read!

Most people know that my husband and I have known each other our whole lives, as we both attended the same tiny, small-town church. Flash forward about 31 years, and we're still at the same church (well, most of the time) - and everything is pretty much the same, only everyone has gotten older. We have 25 people or so on Sunday morning, a little handful that are willing and able to teach, preach and coordinate, and no children except for my two girls. As you can imagine, this is more than a little frustrating.

This is why - although I am in no position of ministry - I was attracted to Shannon O'Dell's new book, Transforming Church in Rural America. The back cover explains that it will help you to "experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches - no matter where the location or how small it may be."

O'Dell writes in a wonderfully conversational style - much like sitting down for a chat with an old friend. I adore his sense of humor and his biographical anecdotes. He tells the story of being called to a rural church, not wanting to go, and trying to get out of it...then reversing his attitude to accept Christ's purpose in his life and working to grow his new church in Arkansas. Today, Brand New Church has a congregation of thousands, with several campuses and followers via satellite in several countries. The story of this church's growth is amazing, and you'll read all about it in this book.

However, it did seem more biographical than informational to me. Sure, there are insightful tips and words of wisdom that would apply to growing any church...but many of them were repeated throughout the book, and I'll admit that I got a little bored with it about halfway through.

If you are in a position of leadership and have vision for your rural church - which is one of the key ingredients to growth, according to O'Dell - then this book is certainly worth a read. His is obviously a success story, and there are many great web links scattered throughout the book that would provide even more information.

However, if you are not a church leader, or if your little church is resistant to change (as are many) or just doesn't have people willing to work toward that change...you may be left as I was, with wonderful new ideas but no practical way to implement them.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in return for an honest, objective review on my blog. I honestly want to give the book a five-star rating because I really enjoyed the read and am amazed and inspired by the pastor's attitude and vision for his own church...but the repetition just bothered me a little. Sorry, Shannon.

One of my LEAST favorite topics...

We all know that it's taboo to discuss religion and politics with certain people, but there's one topic that I shy away from even more: money. It's something that's just hard to discuss when there's a certain lack of it (not that this is anything terribly uncommon in today's economy), and I tend to let He Who Brings Home the Bacon figure out how it is best distributed.

However...I recently discovered a book that dragged me right out of my comfort zone and demanded to be read. It's called Your Money God's Way: Overcoming the 7 Money Myths That Keep Christians Broke (by Amie Streater.)

You're not kept guessing about those seven money myths that keep Christians broke - they're spelled out for you right in the introduction. (We subscribed to at least four of them.) The rest of the book is similarly straightforward - everything is laid out on the table with no sugarcoating. After all, simply being a Christian doesn't exempt people from making dumb mistakes, and I learned about several of ours - as well as the steps we need to take to start repairing them.

Throughout the book, the author examines Scriptures related to money (and there are more than 800 of them in the Bible - obviously a pretty important topic!) How to get out of debt, how to save, how to become financially secure and stay that way...all explained in a way that made perfect sense to me, even with my tendency to shy away from handling the family finances.

Does understanding money management from a Biblical perspective mean that it's going to be easy? Certainly not, and the author doesn't make claims to the contrary. But at least now I recognize several areas that need improvement - and when we know better, we do better.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from BookSneeze in return for an honest, objective review on my blog. I honestly adored this book and it will be much re-read, referenced and dog-eared. However, keeping my review to about 200 words as suggested was hard. I could say a lot more about it - just ask.