Friday Five

I've enjoyed doing Friday 5 a few times before so here are the questions for today:

1. How and when did you learn to swim?

I learned to swim when I was very young. I'm not sure how old I was but I'm sure it was by the time I was 7. I don't remember taking formal lessons but I do remember my dad throwing me in the lake and naturally, I started to doggie paddle. From there, I just watched people swimming and perfected my skills.

2. How and when did you learn to drive?

I learned to drive at 16. My mom taught me to drive the only car we had, which was a stick shift sports car. I'll never forget one of the first times I was driving. I had to come to a stop on a slight hill and I had not yet mastered the skill of pulling out on a hill. Of course, I totally panicked and started to yell that I couldn't do it and I was going to have to get out and let her do it. I ended up pulling out just fine but it was very scary! Looking back, I'm so glad I learned to drive a stick shift. I don't think I've ever owned anything else.

3. How and when did you learn to tie your shoelaces?

When I was about five, I learned to tie my shoes. I don't remember specifics but there was a lot of practice involved!

4. How and when did you learn to cook?

I learned a lot of things from watching my mom and grandmother. I really learned to cook after I was married. I took all of the things I learned from my mom and grandmother and just incorporated those with trying new things. I'm still not where I'd like to be with my cooking but I am getting more bold with my "experiments."

5. How and when did you learn to type?

I learned to type when I was in 9th grade. I had a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Buckles, that I adored and the class was a lot of fun. Because I was a distance runner in high school, I ran about five miles every day. During those runs, I would use my hands and practice typing long words as I went along. It really helped take my mind off the run plus it helped me memorize the keys on a keyboard/typewriter. To this day, I still do this when I'm on my treadmill. It's amazing how it keeps my mind off of how tired I am from the exercise!

 

Au-Pair Services

Because so many women today work, Infant Specialized Care is in demand. Daycare centers are packed to the gills and many working moms find it difficult to find care for their child. Finding a reliable care giver is sometimes extremely hard. Many turn to relatives for help. What happens if you can't find that help? Have you ever considered using an au pair? For many, this may be the perfect solution.

One benefit of having a live-in au pair is that the child is constantly in a familiar environment. For many parents, this will bring them comfort. If you are a working mom in need of child care, be sure to check out this service. I've included the press release below so that you might read more about it.

DEMAND FOR QUALITY INFANT CARE FAR OUTSTRIPS AVAILABLE RESOURCES

Despite 55% of U.S. Mothers with Infants In The Workforce, Childcare Providers Offering Specialized Infant Care Services Remain Rare

San Francisco, CA, February 26, 2008 – With over half of U.S. mothers of infants employed outside the home, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, most must arrange for infant care. Experts agree that the first year in a child’s life is the most critical developmentally and requires a consistent, nurturing caretaker. With maternity leaves as short as twelve weeks, mothers are confronted with leaving their newborns in someone else’s hands. Unfortunately, with limited training for childcare providers and overcrowding in day care centers, what is a mother to do?

This month AuPairCare (www.aupaircare.com), a leading au pair agency, will begin offering Infant Specialized Care™, a program that provides families with a trained, live-in au pair who specializes in infant care and development, allowing working parents to provide their babies with consistent care in the comfort and safety of their own homes.

Demand for this service clearly exists: Based on a survey sent to 400 AuPairCare host families, almost 2/3 of families with infants currently employing au pairs said they would be interested in an infant qualified and trained au pair if the service were offered and would be willing to pay for the additional training.
Infant Specialized Care au pairs receive over 40 hours of infant care training, covering topics, such as feeding, bathing, changing, soothing techniques and safety. Additionally, they receive specialized training in infant stimulation and development, infant massage, infant sign language and certification in Infant First Aid and CPR. This training is complemented by significant hands-on experience working with infants, with each of the Infant Specialized au pairs having at least 400 documented hours of childcare experience with children under the age of two.

“Having my au pair specifically trained to care for my baby will help alleviate some of my ‘mommy guilt.’ Just knowing that my baby is being well cared for and challenged developmentally will allow me to stop worrying and focus on my work,” says Kenna Norris, back-to-work mother of a 13-week old baby.

“With so many women with infants in the workforce and a clear lack of quality providers catering to this age group, developing a tailored au pair service that offers specialized infant training and experience was a priority for AuPairCare.” said Heidi Woehl, Vice President of AuPairCare.

AuPairCare’s Infant Specialized Care program launches this month nationwide.

About AuPairCare
AuPairCare is a leading au pair agency in the United States providing affordable, live-in au pair childcare. Designated by the U.S. Department of State since 1989 as an official au pair agency, AuPairCare has successfully placed over 30,000 au pairs from 40 countries with caring American families. To learn more, please visit http://www.aupaircare.com

Contact: Karie Stern
Tel: 415-608-9195
E-mail: kjstern@comcast.net

 

Stuck In The Middle by Virginia Smith

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Stuck in the Middle

Revell (February 1, 2008)

by

Virginia Smith

 

Virginia Smith left her job as a corporate director to become a full time writer and speaker with the release of her first novel Just As I Am.

Since then she has contracted eight novels and published numerous articles and short stories. She writes contemporary humorous novels for the Christian market, including Murder by Mushroom (Steeple Hill, August 2007) and her newest release, Stuck in the Middle(Revell, February 2008), book 1 in the Sister-to-Sister Series.

Her short fiction has been anthologized, and her articles have been published in a variety of Christian magazines. An energetic speaker, she loves to exemplify God’s truth by comparing real-life situations to well-known works of fiction, such as her popular talk, “Biblical Truths in Star Trek.”

Virginia is a speaker, and an avid Scuba diver. She and her husband Ted, divide their times between Kentucky and Utah, and escape as often as they can for diving trips to the Caribbean!

 

Joan Sanderson's life is stuck. Her older sister, Allie, is starting a family and her younger sister, Tori, has a budding career. Meanwhile, Joan is living at home with Mom and looking after her aging grandmother. Not exactly a recipe for excitement-or romance.

That is, until a hunky young doctor moves in next door. Suddenly Joan has a goal--to catch his eye and get a date. But it won't be easy. Pretty Tori flirts relentlessly with him and Joan is sure that she can't compete. But with a little help from God, Allie, and an enormous mutt with bad manners, maybe Joan can find her way out of this rut and into the life she's been hiding from.

Book 1 of the Sister-to-Sister series, Stuck in the Middle combines budding romance, spiritual searching, and a healthy dose of sibling rivalry that is sure to make you smile.

"A gentle story of one young woman's season of growth, deftly blending the tangle of family relationships with gifts of whimsy and revelation. A joy to read."
~SHARON HINCK, author of Renovating Becky Miller and Symphony of Secrets~

 

"Virginia Smith has created a charming and humorous novel that celebrates small-town life, generations of women caring for each other, and the value of finding a deeper, more active faith."
~SHARON DUNN, author of the Bargain Hunters mysteries~

*********My Review********

This book was pretty entertaining. I really enjoyed reading it and loved the characters. The sisters were so funny that I found myself laughing out loud at some of the things they did. Since my mother has four sisters, I could imagine them in their youth acting much the same as the sisters in this book. The grandmother was sweet and reminded me of my own grandma. I have a neighbor that reminds me so much of Joan. Through the entire book, I was cheering for Joan, hoping that she would gain confidence and that she would find a godly man to share her life with.

Loved this one and I can't wait to read others by Virginia Smith. After I read the book, I emailed Mrs. Smith to tell her much I enjoyed it. She was kind enough to correspond with me several times and I was able to see what a friendly, down to earth woman she is. I love to support authors like this so if you haven't read this book, please pick up a copy. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Do You Eat Oysters?

Two oysters wash up on the beach. One oyster says to the other, "you crack me up!"

Many people eat Gulf oysters and love them. Although I'm not one of those people, I certainly agree that there are many great benefits from eating them. They are loaded with zinc, B-12, and omega 3 fatty acids that make them very good for you. However, did you know that if you have certain health conditions, you are considered "at risk" when consuming raw oysters? If you suffer from a stomach disorder, cancer, diabetes, liver disease, or any other disorder that weakens your immune system, you are considered one of these at risk individuals. If you fall into this category, relax. This doesn't mean you will never eat oysters again. You just have to take extra precautions when consuming them. One thing you can do is eat fully cooked oysters.

You can find this and much more information at beoysteraware.com.

Wordless Wednesday....Creatures @ GA Aquarium

 

For more Wordless Wednesdays, visit 5minutesformom.com.

Pop Up TV, Who Knew!

You all know that everyone in our family is an avid sports fan. We love, love, love football especially. Several years ago, we bought a big screen tv. It's huge and bulky and takes up a lot of floor space. The only love I feel for it is the huge screen it has to display our beloved UT Vols and our favorite NFL teams. I'm always surprised by how quickly technology advances. We all know that as soon as soon as we buy a product, before we get it home even, something better is going to come out. It's crazy!

I'm not sure if these have been around for awhile or not but I can say that I drooled BIG TIME when I saw this pop-up tv . All of your accessories are hidden and all you have to do is hit a button and viola, out pops your tv. How cool is that! Now you can have this pretty piece of furniture that secretly holds your tv and all of the other junk that drives me nuts. I just love them and although they are a little pricey, the next time we have to invest in a tv, it's going to be something like this.

Weekend Reflection

It was an eventful weekend in our house. On Friday, hubby left for Charleston, SC. He competed in his first bagpipe competition on Saturday but went down a day early so he could rest up. After he left Friday, the girls and I managed to have a productive school day before leaving to run some errands. We had to pick up a gift for a sweet gal who was having a birthday sleep over Friday night and invited Caroline. The birthday gal is the daughter of our pastor so his family was kind enough to invite Logan and I to stay for supper. We had a great time celebrating this birthday and really enjoyed fellowshipping with a few members from our church who were there. This was the first time I had eaten pizza since starting WW's and I did very well. I had one slice with a very large portion of salad. I even skipped the chocolate layer cake but that was tough! We had a wonderful time and left around 8:30. Logan invited the oldest daughter to come along to see a movie with us and sleep over at our place. The three of us took off to see The Spiderwick Chronicles and we really enjoyed it. The movie didn't start until 10 so it was after midnight when we got home. I think the girls ended up staying awake until 3am watching Gone With the Wind.

Saturday was competition day for Jeff. We didn't hear from him until late afternoon but he did very well. He played three pieces and placed 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. He also placed 2nd overall for the day! He was even blessed to win a scholarship toward piping school. Logan and friend slept in because they stayed up so late. Caroline arrived home around 1:30 and our guest was picked up then as well. In the evening, I went grocery shopping and then prepared to watch the UT mens basketball team play #1 ranked Memphis at 9pm. I waited all day for it to come on and I was not disappointed. The UT men won and will be ranked #1 now!

Sunday, Jeff got home from Charleston about an hour after we got home from church. We took it easy all day and just rested. At 9pm, the last part of Pride & Prejudice was on Masterpiece Theater so, of course, I watched it. Afterwards, Jeff and I watched a wonderful movie (I'll be posting about it later this week).

Today we were off for piano lessons at 2:00 and afterwards we made our library run. How about you, what did you do this weekend?

Buy A Girl A Watch

Need a gift for the lady in the family? If so, check out these womens gold watches . I am terrible at keeping up with the time and a big factor is that I don't have a watch. I would love to wear one and I have in the past. The problem is that no matter what kind of watch I buy, it dies after a month. It's crazy. I'm starting to think I have some kind of "watch curse" that will not allow the watch to work very long once it's on my wrist! Seriously, it's a real hassle to do without one and it would be the perfect gift for me. Most moms I know are multitaskers and keeping up with the time is crucial. So if you know a lady who doesn't have a watch, go out and buy her one. She'll definitely use it and you can smile knowing you've made her life a little easier.