My boyfriend, whom, if you don’t follow the main blawg is known as “the boy”, is a veggie freak.

Me?

Not so much.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, I like green beans and carrots and peas…

I like brocolli if it’s got cheese on it or in soup.

But I won’t voluntarily pick out vegetables, at least I never did until I started dating the boy.  Now I make sure we have veggies at every meal.

Yeah, I know, it’s funny what love will do to a person.  I’m cooking and cleaning, which is something I warned him I didn’t do.

Despite the fact that I am now selecting vegetables and presenting them in a manner in which my children will eat them (not his much younger children, but my children) I’m far from being a Vegetable Champion.

But maybe you’re closer than me.

Want to know what a vegetable champion is?

A veggie champion is a TRUE vegetable advocate or, rather, community members who are committed to children’s health and wellness to submit their brainstorms for a community garden.

So, if you have this idea for a community garden and you submit it and they pick you, (and they are picking 10 people) you get to go on a two-day retreat with Chef Art Smith aimed at learning and sharing tips and tools on planting, harvesting, cooking and eating vegetables with children. These moms will also receive $5,000 to start or maintain a community vegetable garden in their hometown.

If I could keep anything alive, I would so be all over this contest.

Seriously.

But my mother says I’ve not yet “grown into” gardening.  I love to plant things and get a wild hair once a year only to watch it die because God gave me a black thumb.  If I could figure out this whole gardening thing, I would have a garden full of green beans because my FAVORITE thing in the world is fresh green beans, with butter of course.

I also like carrots and ranch dressing.

Which, speaking of, this whole contest?  The one where you can get away for two days with a renowned chef?

Yeah, that one.

It’s being put on by Hidden Valley.  No, not my kids’ school, silly, the makers of the salad dressings.

The ones that I love to use for everything other than putting on salad… like chicken and veggies and the like.

Yeah.  Them.

They’ve created a website called Love Your Veggies which offers parents tools to help children develop a life-long love of vegetables through activities at home, at school and in the community.

And do you want to know why they are doing this?  (I love companies that get involved in something worthwhile!)

They created the Love Your Veggies™ program after a study found that children consumed 23 percent more vegetables when paired with a moderate amount of ranch dressing (2006 study of two Northern California elementary schools conducted by the University of California Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and the Butte County Cooperative Extension comparing vegetable consumption with Italian and Ranch dressing flavor enhancers).

Yeah, this doesn’t work on my daughter.  She won’t touch them no matter what you cover them with.

So, if you’re a true veggie champion, then you need to go, right now, not later, but right now, and enter to win.  You could be one of the 10 moms that are selected.

And Mom Central?  Thanks for the heads up.

Until next time…

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Most people know that 18 months ago, the Lord nudged me in the direction of working with teens. Ok, I’m kidding. He shoved me into the world of teenagers and my life hasn’t been the same yet.

Prior to July 2007, I wasn’t sure what my purpose was. Yes, I was a career woman. Yes, I was a mother. But none of those things seemed to be my calling. (Yes, I know the Lord called me to be a mother, that’s why I have children, but I was, and still am, to a point, struggling to see that.)

But not when it comes to working with the youth group at my church.

There is no doubt in my mind that I am supposed to be working with them and the Lord made that VERY clear December 30, 2007 when He told me to get rid of all the extras and focus on youth ministry.

And now there’s a way that you can share your story with a broader audience with the help of Frito-Lay. Frito-Lay’s TrueNorth™ brand of nut snacks is built on a core belief that we all have inspirational stories to share and to celebrate, and they are dedicating themselves to using that brand to discover, document and share those stories with the world.

TrueNorth is inviting people to submit a story that describes how they (or someone they know) are pursuing his or her life’s passion. One story (and it could be yours!) will be chosen to share with the world in the form of a 60-second commercial aired during the 81st Annual Academy Awards® broadcast on February 22, 2009. The inspirational spot will be directed by Oscar®-winning actress Helen Hunt and the winner will receive $25,000 to help in the pursuit of his or her passion.

Do you know what I could do with $25,000 for my youth group?

There are 15 days left to submit your story and you can find all the details and how to submit your story at True North Snacks.

We all have one.

What’s your True North Story?

Until next time…

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I’m on the ball this year.

I am.

Everything is bought.  Most of it is wrapped.  All of the packages are mailed.

And I have 13 days until Christmas.

But then?

Yeah.

I get wind of a new Holiday Gift Guide that’s hosted by Mom Central and I’ve now got even more ideas than I started with and so the Christmas Crazy sets in.

You know the Christmas Crazy…picking up things here and there that you see long after you’re done shopping and long after you’ve reached the budget that you set for yourself this year and have blown past… again.

Mom Central has outdone themselves with their Gift Guide and you can find gifts for every one on your list, including your pets.

Do you buy for your pets?  We do.  Casey is getting two cat toys (that she won’t play with) and Rhoda is getting two dog bones (that she won’t chew on) but we buy them never the less, because the kids would be devastated if Santa forgot the animals.  They even have their own stockings hanging by the chimney door with care.

No matter who is on your list, you’ll find something for them listed within the pages of the 2008 Mom Central Holiday Gift Guide.

What’s more?

They’ve got giveaways.  Oh yes they do!  One each day and they’ve got them going on through the 18th of December, so that’s still six more days!

To be eligible to win the daily prizes, you must register on Mom Central (you’ve done this already, haven’t you?), log-in, and leave a comment on the post. And, if you tweet or email friends about the giveaway, you can earn another entry! (Come on!  You know you’re tweeting and emailing all day long anyway… might as well pass it along!) In order to earn the entry, you simply go back to the Mom Central Review blog and leave a second comment letting them know.

Not hard at all.

After you’ve perused all the great gifts that they have listed, and after you’ve spent even more money that you didn’t have on something that you just HAD to have, then take a minute and sign up for the Mom Central Testing Panel.

At least that way you can be heard after testing things, for free.

Trust me, if you’re anything like me, free is going to look mighty good after the next few weeks and the effects of Christmas Crazy start occurring.

Now go.  Shop.  Be Merry.

and enter giveaways.

Until next time..

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I don’t know about you, but I can’t even begin to tell you how much money I’ve shelled out in the last few weeks for Christmas.  I had a budget.  Had is the operative word there.  Although, I guess I still have it… it’s just not balanced.

I would fit right in on Capital Hill.

I digress.

I learned of a rewards system that would, well, reward me, for spending money.  I’m good at spending money, so a little kick back would be nice, ya know?

Priority Rewards Club is a great site that you can easily register for, make purchased, rack up points and then redeem them for travel, hotels, gift certificates and so much more.

I know what you’re thinking… but no, really, there are tons of stores associated with Priority Rewards Club that you would actually shop at.  Seriously.  Even the Apple Store is listed there along with over 200 others.

Included also are restaurants and other assorted online establishments.  You’re going to spend the money anyway, right?

So really, you might as well just sign up and get a kick back.

And redeeming the points… wanna know what you can get?

What can’t you get might be easier to spell out.  Points can be redeemed for airfare, hotels, car rentals, magazines, DVDs, cds, and, oh yeah… for brand merchandise as well such as vacuum cleaners, an other assorted products.

It’s a big list and there’s something for everyone.  I was able to pick up a few extra gifts based on the points that I earned, just by shopping like I normally would.

The website is very easy to navigate as well and takes just a minute to sign up.

And… you can redeem PCR points to pay for their holiday travels and to buy gifts and make charitable donations or you can keep earning new points to use down the line by using a Priority Club Rewards Visa card from Chase and shopping at stores like Target and Wal-Mart where purchases made earn them points.

Wouldn’t it be nice to not have to spend so much on vacation this year in traveling?  Wouldn’t it be nice to walk into a store that you frequent often with cash in hand, that’s just free money?

I know.

I’m making plans already.

Take a minute right now and sign up for an account at Priority Rewards.  You’ll thank me for it, really.

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One of the biggest things I worry about with my children is that they will think life mirrors what they see on television.  As a huge High School Musical Fan, I know that my nine-year-old thinks that high school is going to be much like she sees it portrayed on the big screen.

It was a hard lesson for me to learn when I got to high school and realized that it wasn’t like it was on Beverly Hills, 90210 or even Saved By the Bell.

Elisha Cooper, author of several children’s books, felt the same way that I did so he did something about it.  He spent 8 months in a high school in Chicago chronicling the lives of eight students - 6 seniors and 2 juniors.

Wanna know what he did after that?

He wrote ridiculous/hilarious/terrible/cool: A Year in an American High School and depicts high school life from big dates, proms, friends, college applications and more.  In essence, he’s giving you their lives as they really unfold and not something that Hollywood has created.

The only thing that I can say about this book is that it is a must read.  I particularly enjoyed it as it wasn’t made up; it was real.  I’ve also encouraged each of my youth group students to read it, because they, too, are caught up in how the media says it’s going to be.

I was able to follow the lives of these eight students and remember what high school was like for me and be thankful that I’m past all of that.

The book is wonderfully written and a fairly quick read.  It’s very easy to picture yourself with these students as they go through their school year and while I found it difficult to follow along at first, after a chapter or two, I didn’t miss a beat.

Elisha hopes that his book portrays real high school life, with a different and more nuanced perspective that kids will find valuable and in my opinion he hit the nail on the head.

If you have a emerging or high school student, I highly recommend that you pass this book on to them, or encourage them to read it.  High school isn’t as much as a disappointment when the expectations aren’t set as high.

Also, be sure to check out Elisha Cooper’s Website for more information on this book as well as the others that he’s written.

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