Ultimate Blog Party 2010

Posted on April 9, 2010 by vanderbiltwife

A year can make quite the difference.

In last year’s UBP post, I was stressing over swaddling and daycare costs. I worked full-time and rocked my baby to bed each night.

This year, I’m happy to say I am a new stay-at-home mom in a new city (Chattanooga, TN). I spend most of my days going insane by running after my toddler daughter, Libbie. But I won’t bore you with the details. You can read all of them on my About Me page.

Pretty much, I’m always this crazy. But Libbie doesn’t always look so scared.

I thought since this was a party, and I like to claim to be a “quarter” food blog, I’d serve up some yummy party food.

First off, you must try the Mexican Corn Dip–also known as Magically Delicious Dip. I am not sure how I don’t have a picture of it since I’ve made it approximately 8,000 times. I will assume it’s because I ate it all before I could think to get my camera.

You also need to have a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake with Cream Cheese Icing. I served these at my own going-away party at work, and several men proposed. Married ones. But since I am very devoted to my Mr. V and so not into adultery, I politely declined and moved to another city.

I think for our main course we’ll have my mom’s Turkey Pecan Salad. After we fill up on all that dip and cupcakes, we’ll need something light. We have to watch our figures, after all. (Although I no longer do Family Recipe Fridays, I shared a whole bunch of family recipes over the last year in that carnival. They’re all here, or you can check out my Recipe Index by clicking that link at the top of the page.)

So, there you have it. I hope you’re well-fed and feeling right at home in my little domestic paradise here. (Pssstt … I am only good at cooking. Please don’t look at the floors or the ants marching across the counter or my daughter taking all my cutting boards out of the cabinet.) Everyone else is hanging over at 5 Minutes for Mom, in case you have NO IDEA what I’m talking about here.

Oh! I have one more thing!

To add to the party fun, I want to introduce you to some of my blogging friends! There are nine of us who each have a word hidden in their post. These nine words make up a sentence. We will each link you up to the lady who has the next word in the sentence—but keep in mind that I might not have the first word in the sentence!

Once you have the sentence, e-mail it to sisterchickies@gmail.com with “UBP10″ in the subject line. Each person with the correct sentence will be in a drawing to win a $40 Target gift card! Winner will be announced on all of our blogs April 19, and the winner will be e-mailed. The winner has 48 hours to respond or we’ll pick someone else.

Disclaimer: Some of us are slower than others, but we will all have our posts up by noon EDT on Friday, April 9.

So for your next clue, visit Simply Staci!

And thanks for visiting me here at Vanderbilt Wife.

____
As far as prizes go, my top 3 would be the $50 gift certificate for Froggy Girl Designs (US50), the Bailey’s curriculum from The Itty-Bitty Bookworm (US69), or a gift card such as the Amazon one offered by AFullCup (US74).

I have a 17-month-old daughter, so I’d love anything that would be appropriate for her, or a gift card of any kind. Favorites include: US 16, 31, 32, 37, 39, 52, 53, 55, 72, 73, 74, 87, 88, 91, 96, 104, 107, 112, USC 3, 8, 15, 27, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41, 60.

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Charlie and Lola Winner

Posted on December 2, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Sorry I did not get a winner on this yesterday–obviously I was too busy wallowing in my own self-pity. But I had 29 valid comments, and the winner according to Random.org was #22, Sleeping Kelly! Congratulations, Kelly, I will e-mail you this morning to get your address!

Also, the first person to leave me their Amazon link, I will order the book through yours! (It’s not expensive but hey, it’s something, right?)

Blog-a-Versary Update

Posted on July 18, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Just wanted to let y’all know I’m putting the winners at the top of the giveaway posts as they happen. So far I’ve announced winners for The Wedding Singer and for the three Christian fiction books.

Jessie

Things I Love Thursday: The Bible

Posted on July 16, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Giveaway is over. The winner of this lovely Bible is #15, Hillary, The Other Mama! I have met her in real life at Blissdom and she is a total sweetheart and a HOOT. You need to be reading her blog. Congrats, Hillary!

I know that y’all know that I am a Christian. You might even have gathered that I am a Southern Baptist, which may or may not scare the living daylights out of you.

But although I am a Baptist by affiliation, you can rest assured knowing that being a follower of Christ is way more important to me than being a Baptist. I am sad to say that’s not always the case with denominational leanings.

I believe in the basics. Love God. Love people. I try to do those things to the best of my ability. Sometimes I fail. A lot of times, really. But I “press on to reach the end of the race” (Phil. 3:14).

I believe the Bible is the Word of God. And especially over the last five years or so, I have come to love it, passionately.

I love the nuances that are found in the original languages. I love the prophecies that are all fulfilled through Christ. I love the hope, I love the future, and I love what my Jesus did to save me.

This year I picked up a One Year Bible for Women in the New Living Translation. I LOVE this translation. No, it is not as accurate to the original as some, but I feel like it makes the meaning of the Scripture very clear. It is, simply, very easy to read.

I’m so pleased to have a beautiful NLT Bible to give away as part of my Blog-A-Versary Party. It is a lovely personal-size Bible, bonded leather in “British tan” color.

This Bible features:
Dictionary/concordance
Full-color maps
Presentation pages
Ribbon marker
Gilded page edge
Durable binding
Words of Christ in red
Favorite passages index

To enter, leave me a comment telling me what you would use this Bible for. Personal study? To give to a friend?

For a second entry, leave me another comment telling me what your favorite Scripture verse is (write it out, so we can see it!).

US and Canada only, please. If you don’t have an e-mail linked to your Blogger comment mechanism, please leave your e-mail addy for me in the comment so I can find you if you win! I will choose a winner on Sunday evening, July 19.

This post linked to Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.

Bury Me in Books and I’ll Be Happy {Another Giveaway!}

Posted on July 15, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Giveaway is over! The lucky winner is #9, my (in-real-life) friend Megan! YAY! I can go deliver them in person.

Maybe one or two times in my blog’s existence, I’ve mentioned that I like to read. Or, um, 22. Which is how many posts I have labeled “books.”

My mom claims I taught myself to read around age 4. I don’t think I’ve removed my nose from a book since then. I am ALWAYS reading something. In first grade, it was Little House in the Big Woods and Ramona books. In college, I was buried under classics and modern masterpieces for my English major. Since graduating, I’ve enjoyed being able to pick out my own books again. I read just about everything, with my favorites being Christian fiction, memoirs, and contemporary fiction (I don’t know what else to classify it as–authors like Maeve Binchy, Anne Tyler, and Jodi Picoult).

I review books for BookLoons, and it’s been so fun to receive books in advance of their publication and have somebody care about my opinion. Recently, I’ve been on a major Christian fiction kick and I’m excited to have three great books to give away in that genre! I received all of these to review from the fine folks at WaterBrook Press.

Never the Bride is quirky in that it’s based on the screenplay for a movie, not the other way around! Cheryl McKay wrote the screenplay, and Rene Gutteridge did the novelization. It’s about a young woman who’s obsessed with the idea of marriage. When God comes to her in physical form, her deep-rooted beliefs come to the forefront and she’s faced with the choice to let go or not know what God might have for her.

Robin Jones Gunn is my favorite author ever. Her Glenbrooke series is wonderful comfort reading for me, and I loved the Christy Miller series way past when it was really age-appropriate (it’s a teen series). The Sisterchicks series is a little more hit-or-miss for me, but I thought this one–Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes–was great! OhAmanda did a wonderful review of it on her blog I’ll let you read. (My favorite is still Sisterchicks Do the Hula, though.)

I might be on a little bit of a Rene Gutteridge kick lately. This year, I’ve read several of her books. This is the second one I’ve read for review in this series, although it’s the first in the Occupational Hazards series (does that make sense?). Scoop tells the tale of Channel 7 news, a station in decline trying to save itself through Botox, new anchors, and interesting stories. But as stories start to criss-cross and a lead anchor goes missing, the station goes crazy, leaving only serene Hayden Hazard to keep everyone under control–and prayed for.

I’m so excited to have these three books to give away to one lucky reader as part of my Blog-a-Versary party! (US & Canada only please, and if you don’t have your e-mail linked to your Blogger comment thing, PLEASE leave it in your comment.) To enter, just leave me a comment with the title of the last book you read and if you liked it or not.

I’ll pick a winner on Saturday, July 18, around 3 p.m. CST.

Blog-a-Versary {and a Giveaway!}

Posted on July 14, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. The lucky winner is Emma (augustlily06@), the #2 commenter. I’ll be e-mailing her about her prize!

Yesterday was my theee-year “blog-a-versary.” Also known as, three years ago I wrote my first post here. [In total disclosure, I am pretty sure I wrote one or two posts before that one and deleted them because they had to do entirely with my weight.]

My word, how things have changed in three years. I like to think that in that time, I’ve become a better writer. I’ve moved from being a “blogspot” blog to being a dot com. I’ve matured, settled deeper into married life, gone through trials, become a mother.

I’m excited to have three years of collected writings to look back through, a sort-of memoir of my life thus far. Silly stories and deeper musings I can share with the world.

It still amazes me that anyone bothers to read my writing here, and it is such an honor to me. I so enjoy the community of blogging, being able to put questions out there and get answers or at least support. Quickly realizing I am not the only person who struggles with ________.

As a thank you to you, dear readers, I’m planning lots of giveaway fun for this week!

Today I’m going to give away a DVD of one of my favorite movies, The Wedding Singer.

To enter, just tell me one thing you like about Vanderbilt Wife. That’s it! I’ll choose a winner on Friday, July 17, at 3 p.m. CST.

Giveaway Winner

Posted on June 8, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

For those of you who have been waiting with bated breath, just wanted to let you know that MJ was the winner of Nine Ways God Always Speaks! Congratulations, and hope the rest of you will go out and buy a copy, because it’s a GREAT book.

Top Ten Tuesday: Linky Love

Posted on June 2, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Since it seems people like a list of good reads, once again, here are my Top Ten Posts I’ve Liked Recently, for your reading pleasure!

10. “Best Audio Books for Kids” by OhAmanda. It was her top ten post today. Is that cheating? I left a small essay in the comments!!

9. “Will You Hit Your Saturation Point Before Your Tipping Point?” by Velveteen Mind

8. “When I Am Old” by The MawMaw

7. “Adjusting to Life with Three Littles” by Mom of Littles (aka MoneySaving Mom)

6. “ESPN, Where Do You Get These People?” by Deep South Moms

5. “Not Budgeting Enough Can Be Costly” by A Simple Walk

4. “Sweetness” by Love Well

3. “Brave” by Ministry So Fabulous

2. “I Cried” from The Life, Faith, and Creativity of Jessica Turner

1. “Throwing Down on the Recession” by Deep South Moms

And while we’re talking links, here are the recipes I’ve starred on my Google Reader lately. Anyone want to make one of these for me? Sticking with the theme, these are the last 10 I’ve added.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake from Chocolatechic
Lemon Cake from Chocolatechic (really, she needs to stop taking such yummy-looking pictures)
Sesame-Garlic Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry from Cooking During Stolen Moments
Lemon-Garlic Chicken Noodle Soup from Naturally Knocked Up
Blackberry Jam Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches from Cooking During Stolen Moments
Banana Cream Pie from Chocolatechic
Ridiculously Good Chocolate Cake from Cooking During Stolen Moments
Italian Meatball Hoagies from $5 Dinners
Meatball Soup from A Year of Crockpotting
Crockpot Chicken Fajitas from $5 Dinners

And while we’re talking … if you’re visiting from OhAmanda, I have a giveaway going on right now for a wonderful book on hearing God speak in our time. Check it out and enter!

Nine Ways God Always Speaks

Posted on June 2, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Do you think God still speaks?

Really?

And how?

Even though over the last three years I have worked on at least three Bible studies about God speaking, none of them hit me like this book did. Sure, I thought God spoke to people. In some way.

Even though I know someone who has heard an audible voice telling her that her husband would be OK when he was going through a tough sickness, I still wasn’t sure that pertained to me. I believe her–definitely. But I wouldn’t expect it to happen to me.

And why not?

In Nine Ways God Always Speaks, Mark Herringshaw and Jennifer Schuchmann relay stories. Stories of God speaking to normal, present-day Christians like you and me. These are interspersed with historical and biblical examples in a very readable manner. The authors throw in their own opinions, doubts, and feelings–as well as incidences that occurred when they were writing the book. It’s a conversation with a friend as they tell you about the amazing thing that happened to someone they know.

I knew I would like the book as soon as I started it. What I didn’t know is how it would challenge me. I think that we’ve really tried to take the supernatural out of God in our culture. It’s not easy to rationalize, so we just dismiss it. I think the biggest struggle I’ve had with my faith is trying to put God in a box that my pea-sized brain can comprehend.

And He is much bigger than that box, y’all.

I came away with the overwhelming desire to expect God to work in my life–to hear Him. Maybe through the Bible. Maybe through coincidences or nature. But also maybe through dreams, visions, voices, or an urge to do something I can’t do on my own. I don’t want to take the mystery out of God. I want to expect Him to work in big ways that I can’t understand.

If you’ve traveled all the way through my diatribe here, your reward is this: I am giving away one copy of this wonderful book. Just leave me a comment telling me what book has changed your faith (or has made you question or think about faith, if there isn’t one). Twitter this (use @vanderbiltwife) and leave me an additional comment telling me you did for an extra entry. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, June 5. US and Canada only, please. Thanks!

Some of the other books that have worked in my life are:
Sophie’s Heart by Lori Wick
Believing God by Beth Moore
Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner

Family Recipe Friday Winner!

Posted on May 16, 2009 by vanderbiltwife

Since I didn’t have that many names to choose from, I decided to go with the “write them all down and let Mr. V draw a name from a hat” method of choosing.

The winner is Carolyn! Who, conveniently, works down the hall from me. Unfortunately, I still have to order this from Amazon, so it will take her just as long to get it as it would anyone else.

Congrats, Carolyn! And everyone else PLEASE come back for Family Recipe Friday next week! What do you want to see the recipe for: chicken parmesan, cabbage rolls, potato soup, broccoli salad, or layered salad?