Fathers’ Day is June 17th. Have you given it any thought?

(See something you like?  Click on the photo to learn more.)


If you are like most of us, we make a big deal of Mothers’ Day, probably because it has become so commercialized, but we either forget Fathers’ day entirely, or try to get off easy by sending a card.

Mom was easy. Call the florist and order some flowers, or grab a box of candy on your way home from work. All mothers like flowers and candy, right? But dads are different, so put on that thinking cap, figure out the perfect gift for your particular dad, and surprise the socks off him come June 17th. (That’s not very far away, in case you’re wondering.) Here are a few suggestions to make it easier for you.

1.  Is your dad an outdoor type of guy?

Does he fish, hunt, camp, or hike? Then bless him with a collapsible reel that he can stuff in a pocket, leaving his hands free to carry a picnic hamper, or a new super warm sleeping bag to keep him warm when tent-camping on cold nights. Renewing his hunting license in preparation for fall hunting is
another thoughtful gift that any hunter would love.

                                                                         






2.  Or is your dad more into sports?

Whether it’s Baseball, Football, Soccer, or Olympic competitions, any sports fan will love tickets to his favorite event? And, if he is actually into the competition himself, gift him with some of the tools of the trade. Replace a broken golf club, spring for new running shoes, or get him a T-Shirt that proclaims his interest loud and clear

 













3.  Maybe your dad always has his nose in a book.


Some dads do, you know, even if reading isn’t your own cup of tea. It shouldn’t be too hard to get the names of a few titles he’s been talking about recently and show up on Fathers’ Day with them in a bundle under your arm. If he is into Bible prophecy, Jonathan Cahn’s, The Harbinger, is the book everyone seems to be talking about right now. If not, stop by a book store and find something that goes along with his hobbies or political interests



4.  Perhaps your dad is the frugal type.

Many of our fathers grew up in a time when money was pretty hard to come by? Your father may have developed the habit of not spending anything on himself. Use this opportunity to buy him something he wouldn’t ordinarily spend money on. Find a restaurant that serves that super lobster dinner he talks about, but wouldn’t consider buying for himself. Or think about a jacket he has admired on someone else but rejected for himself because of the cost. Pamper him a bit. We never know how long our fathers will still be around so lets spoil them while we still can.


5. If all else fails, how about just giving your dad a gift of your time?


Offer to spend several hours just doing whatever he would like to do and then do it... Maybe he would just like to sit in the park and talk, or take a walk around the neighborhood. Perhaps he might ask you to help him do some yard work, or even paint the house. If he seems hesitant, be prepared with a few suggestions of your own, like a movie he would like to see, or a drive up to a lake to fish for an hour or two.

Hope you found something here to give you an idea of something you could use as a gift for your own father this Fathers’ Day, or at least started you thinking about it. June 17th will be here before you know it.

Chenille Bedspreads, a Nostalgic Reminder of My Childhood

Blue, white, pink, purple or black?  The color doesn't really matter as long as it's Chenille. 


                              

As a kid, the bed my younger sister and I shared always had a Chenille spread.  The bedspreads--several over the years--were actually pretty ratty looking, especially after being handed down first from our parents, and then from our older sister before ever reaching our room, but they still looked great to us. We loved them.

They were soft, fluffy, and luxurious feeling.  We took turns wrapping the spread around us and pretending to be princesses, queens, or just elegant ladies going out for tea.

Later, as an adult, I once found a couple of twin sized Chenille spreads and bought them for my daughters beds, but couldn't find a full-sized one.  After a long while, I gave up looking, figuring that companies had just stopped manufacturing them.

A couple of years ago, I found one for sale on eBay and snatched it up, even though with shipping it was far more expensive than most bedspreads I could have bought locally, but it was CHENILLE. Who cared if it was well-used by the previous owners, and smelled a bit dusty from years of storage in somebody's attic?

Unfortunately, my eBay spread was even older than the ones our parents had passed down to my sister and me, and it had lost much of its appeal by the time it reached my bed.  It did have lovely colored flowers in the center though and made a great conversation piece to discuss with my grandchildren who loved to spend time playing monopoly in the middle of Grandma and Grandpa's bed.  Regretably, it had a short life.

Recently, I ran across a company that sold "new" Chenille bedspreads.  I emphasize the word, new, because I had never had a new one before.  The new ones come in white, blue, or pink, are 100% cotton- tufted chenille and have a floral medallion design in the center.  Best of all, even the King sized model was less than $70.If you, like me, have times of longing for a reminder of, "The Good Old Days,"  check out AmeriMark by clicking the picture below and see if they don't have something you just can't live without.

Surprise Your Mother With Something Really Special for Mothers' Day

Since I'm a mom, I am qualified to tell you what moms would really like for Mothers' Day. (Most Moms anyway.) An e-book reader like Nook or Kindle!

I have a Kindle and wrote about it in one of my posts a while back, but I have to confess that I was really torn between which one to buy. They both had great features. The Nook, at that time, was the only one that had color, but the Kindle won out in my case because it was just a little cheaper. Another nice feature of both the Nook and Kindle is that you can easily adjust the size of the print, and, for older eyes like mine, that was a definite plus.

If you are wondering what to get Mom, and have some siblings you can share the cost with, go for a Nook or Kindle. Either one would make a great gift, and your Mom will enjoy it for years to come. Remember, Mothers' Day this year is May 13th so you don't have a lot of time left.

Below is a repeat of my earlier review of the Kindle, followed by one of a comparable model of the Nook. Read them both and see what you think.

The $79 Kindle is well worth the money



Sure, you can find a higher priced Kindle with more bells and whistles, but if you, like me, just want to read books, the $79 model will do the job just fine.

For several years, I have toyed with the idea of getting a Kindle, but couldn't quite bring myself to part with the money. The new, $79 version changed my mind.

After all, I would have to pay that much for one night at a motel, I told myself--or a month of cable at our house--or enough gas to visit my sister across the state. And, what about taking the whole family to a nice restaurant for just one meal? Surely a Kindle was at least as important to me as any of these other things.

I finally convinced myself, bought the Kindle, and haven't regretted it for a minute.

True, the $79 version lacks the frills of some of the higher priced Kindles, but I really wasn't looking for frills. I just wanted a simple e-reader that held lots of books, that was light-weight to hold, and had adjustable font sizes so I could enlarge the print if I wanted. My $79 Kindle met all those qualifications and more.

After a couple of weeks, I decided to buy a cover for my Kindle to make sure the screen didn't get something spilled on it, or scratched to pieces by our curious cat, so that was an expense I hadn't counted on, but it has been well worth it, too. Now I can toss it into my purse without worrying about something sharp, like a comb or my ball-point pen rubbing against it. I bought a black cover, but it is available in 4 different colors. It fits the Kindle perfectly.

In the short time I have had my Kindle, I have not only purchased a few titles I really wanted, but have also found many free titles at Amazon.com. Just go there and type in, "free Kindle books," and you should find a number that appeal to you. One free one I downloaded was, Transfer of Power," by Vince Flynn, which I highly recommend if you like adventure novels.

My first real purchase was a Bible, for only $2.99.

Now I do my daily Bible reading on my Kindle. The next day, even if I have been reading other books in between, I just turn to the index page where all my titles are listed, click on my Bible, and it opens at the exact place where I left off reading the day before. Another button takes you to a keyboard where you can type in a different place in the Bible if you wish, and that spot will appear.

If you want to order a new book, use the same keyboard to search for the title or author, and then go click on, go online, in the index to order it. Like magic, it is quickly added to your collection, and you can open it with a click and start reading.

Many public libraries also loan books for use on your Kindle, but I have only ordered one that way so far. You search the list of available books and, if there is a waiting list for a particular title, you add your name to the list, and they will notify you by e-mail when it is available. If not, you simply order the book, sign in to your Kindle, and the book is there.

The book I borrowed was loaned to me for 7 days. After 5 days, I got an e-mail reminding me that the loan period would expire in 2 more days. Then, at the end of 2 days, the book no longer opened, but I had finished reading it, so I deleted it.

Another thing I really, really love about my $79 Kindle is that I can move text documents from my computer to the Kindle and read them there. As someone who never passes up an opportunity to download free e-books online, I am well-stocked, and have many I haven't even open, yet. Now they reside on my Kindle, and when we go traveling, my lawnchair by the river, my can of soda, my Kindle, and I will while away the hours with those e-books I always meant to read, but haven't gotten around to yet.

If you have been putting off purchasing an e-reader, you can't lose with the $79 Kindle. It is worth every penny. Check it out below and see if you don't agree.

Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6" E Ink Display - includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers



BUT WHAT ABOUT THE NOOK?



The Nook, "Simple Touch," shown above is pretty much the equivilent to the $79 Kindle I reviewed earlier except that it sells for $99 rather than $79.

I haven't personally used any of the Nook readers, but have heard very good reports from those who have. The ink used in this model is new on the market and is said to be much crisper looking and easier to read, even in bright sunlight. The battery last for up to two months based on an hour a day of reading. (I find my new e-reader so much fun to read that I often put in two to three hours and haven't had to charge the battery more than once a month so time between charges isn't really a problem with either the Kindle or the Nook.

This small Nook will hold over 2 and a half million books, any of which can be downloaded using its built-in wi-fi so you shouldn't worry about running out of reading material any time soon, either.

As is the case with the Kindle, you can also download ebooks through your public library. I love getting books this way because they cost absolutely nothing at all. Unfortunately, there are other readers who wish to download the same book so you may have to put your name on a waiting list, but that is no problem. Just this week, I received an e-mail telling me that a book I had put my name in for was now available and I had 48 hours to download it or it would go to the next person on the list. Of course I grabbed it and have already read the first few chapters.

Nook's earliest models came out with color capabilities so Nook outsold Kindle for quite a while. I'll admit that I almost went with Nook instead of Kindle for that reason, but being a bit of a tightwad, the $79 price won out and I haven't been sorry yet.

ALL-NEW NOOK: The Simple Touch Reader

You know you want one for your mom, (and maybe another one for yourself,) so don't wait another minute to get some of those good buys on books that I've been telling you about.

Happy reading.

And if you do pick up the Nook, don't forget to protect it with a cover. Here's one in hot pink for your mom. She will absolutely love it.




Lautner Cover in Vivid Pink

What to Do When You Do and He Doesn't?

Is your special fellow dragging his feet while you are beginning to wonder if he is lying when he says he loves you?

Are you patiently, (or not so patiently) waiting a little longer for him to make up his mind, even though your biological clock seems to be ticking a little faster these days?

Are you beginning to think he is telling the truth when he says he doesn't really think he is the marrying kind?

Find the answers to those questions by watching the following video. I promise it will be worth your time, and may even end up with you learning the secret that will finally put that ring on your finger and send you out shopping for your wedding gown.

Click Here!

Don't Rush the Season

About this time every year, I am tired of rain and snow and really ready for some sunshine. So ready, in fact, that I usually decide that weeding my flower beds and maybe even putting in a few flower bulbs will make summer arrive a little sooner.

I have a word of caution for you though. If you live as far north as I do in western Oregon, don't yield to the temptation of planting tomatoes, yet. I'll admit, I did it, and I'm paying for it, or at least my tomato plants are. All 6 of them froze. Their grotesque little bodies are now lying flat on the ground and starting to turn black, obviously beyond any hope of resurection.

It could have been worse, I suppose. What if I had filled the whole back yard with tomato plants?

I really should have known that there was a reason why those fragile little plants were inside at the garden shop. I can't really blame the clerk who waited on me either--maybe she thought I had a green house, or a covered patio, or sense enough to cover them at night until the weather warmed up.

What do you do with dead tomato plants, anyway? I suppose they deserve a decent burial, but it's cold and rainy outside. I guess I'll have to wait until the next 5-minute sunbreak arrives.

Win Friends and Influence People on Facebook

Everyone I know seems to have a Facebook page.

I have one, but I'll admit, I don't pay as much attention to it as I should. It not only a great place for keeping in touch with friends, for reconnecting with old friend, for letting off steam about your latest pet peeve, and for posting family photos or interesting sites you have run into elsewhere online, but it also offers the perfect venue for sharing what matters to you most at any given moment.

By sharing, I don't mean beating your readers over the head with non-stop messages about your chosen cause, but I do mean letting people know what you believe. Don't worry about the reactions of others---Facebook allows you to delete any comments you don't like. After all, it IS supposed to be YOUR page.

It can be discouraging sometimes when you post a quote, a picture, or an opinion and get no response at all. Don't worry, unless you are totally obnoxious, someone out there is reading what you have to say---especially if you make the effort to provide interesting posts on a variety of subjects in between the posts about whatever it is you are trying to promote.

Take a little time to comment on the posts that others are making on their blogs, too. Dale Carnegie, in his book, How To Win Friends and Influence People , says that the most important part of making friends is to let them know you are interested in them and in what is happening in their lives.

The Bible tells us that we reap what we sow. If you have a Facebook account, why not sow a few comments on the pages of your friends and see what happens.

Before They Know It

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes

Before our kids started school, I never realized how much the schools actually relied on the internet for communication. I just assumed teachers now communicated with parents the way they did when I was at school—they just sent notes home. Little did I know that the more popular way today was to send e-mails or use a school website!

To help keep us in the loop with what is happening every day with the boys, we are going to get.wild blue Exede. While teachers do send still notes home, they also send e-mail updates to parents about tests, homework and grades.

Plus the school website is a helpful reference. On the calendar they show all of the teacher workdays and vacations as well as important state testing dates and fun events like field day. No more missing an important date or not being aware of what is going on.

While we as parents appreciate it, I wonder if the kids do. Now we know what they’ve been up to at school before they can get home to tell us about it!