what i love wednesday

The Mast General Store in Winston-Salem has officially opened.

-----

I'm not really loving this but it seems really silly to NOT use it when they give you cash back on items you'd purchase anyway. So have you started using Ibotta yet? It's a lot like Cartwheel and I've already quickly made $5 back on purchases in the last week.

-----

I read a tip somewhere that you could use hair conditioner to shave your legs and it's so simple and works so well. Try it!

-----

Project Repat T-shirt Quilts

I'm really thinking about getting one of these made with all of my race shirts. I have entirely too many technical tees and this is a good way to make them useful and still keep them. Right now there's an excellent promo going on for May.

-----

I won a copy of Christy Nockels new album from Jennifer at The Simple Pen and I am loving the upbeat "Freedom Song." It makes me very happy. Take a listen if you have the chance.

Family Force Five {FF5} review + giveaway

I was not paid for this post, however Family Christian did send me a copy of Time Stands Still to listen to and review. Plus they are giving away an appreciation certificate to one reader. The links below are not affiliate links. As always, the opinions expressed below are my own.

image source

 

When we took the kids to WinterJam a month or so ago they were totally mesmerized when Family Force Five came out wearing wacked out suits and audience members stood up and started dancing all crazy to "Crank it Like a Chainsaw."  The "party" they threw at this show was what my kids talked about in the few days following.

source

When I saw that I had a chance to review their latest album "Time Stands Still," I jumped at the chance. This band is considered "crunk rock" which makes me laugh in itself, but I just love the positivity of their music and my kids love the upbeat party songs.

Josh said, "Mom they're the ones that wore glow-in-the-dark clothes, right?"

No we go down the road singing B-Z-R-K, B-Z-R-K, Go berserk and bouncing along.

Family Force Five

Use the widget below for your chance to win a $10 certificate to Family Christian and you can get your own copy.  Giveaway ends Sunday 5/3.

Family Force Five Review and Giveaway

what i love wednesday {plus a giveaway}

If you haven't tried Chick-fil-A's new Frozen Lemonade, you need to get yourself there in a hurry! Mmmmm! It's so good! Many thanks to #ChickfilaMoms for sending me the coupons. I will most certainly be back for this again!

-----

I picked up The Runner's Devotional from Family Christian the other day. So far it's delightful.

-----

I won the WBFJ Birthday Bundle a month ago and I received several CDs. My most favorite has quickly become Lauren's Daigle's album How Can It Be. I am in love with the song, "Trust in You" and I play it on repeat in the car most days.

Check out her YouTube stuff here.

I'm also loving the Unspoken album. One of the kids had already gotten this for Christmas and then I got another copy when I won the birthday prize. I'd love to send the copy to one of you that is interested. Just fill out the widget below to enter. I'll choose a winner this weekend.

-----

I got this dress at the Old Navy Outlet last week in Myrtle Beach. It was only $12 after the coupons I had and the sale that was going on. It's adorable, comfortable, and stylish. I'm average height, not model tall so it comes to the very top of my knee. I love it.

Win a copy of Unspoken's new CD

March Madness

Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links. I was not compensated for writing this post, but Family Christian provided merchandise certificates for me to purchase some of the products you'll see below. All ideas included in this post are mine and the opinions are entirely my own.

All this snow and ice has really gotten me thinking about basketball. Here in the South we may not be huge football fans but we certainly love some college basketball!  As the season swings into high gear I've got 6 things you can do now to get ready for March Madness. So get your pom-poms out and get ready for some hoops!

Number One

Make a t-shirt to show your team spirit. I got some Tulip fashion paint from Family Christian and took some t-shirts I had stashed away and painted some catchy team related phrases onto these T-shirts. I made this one for my husband...

I'd rather be lost in Raleigh than found in Chapel Hill

...and this one for my son.

Finally, I made this adorable little one for my niece.

I only cry when Duke fans hold me

"See! This is how I cry!"

Number Two

Decorate your house with this trendy wreath. You can make one in your favorite team colors. You can get 10 yds of Deco Mesh Ribbon at Family Christian for $9.99 and that's plenty enough to make one wreath. Add some ribbon and other embellishments and hang it on your door to let guests know which team you're rooting for.

We made this one for our house.

We made this one for my mom's house.

Number Three

ACC Basketball Pennant printable made by yours truly for your personal use.

 

Just string it up and hang like a garland wherever you'll be watching the games. So cute and easy!

Free Printable

Note: My garland is missing the Duke pennant because we can't have that nastiness hanging around in our house. Kidding! It's because my printer ran out of blue ink at the last minute, but I'm not crying about it.

Number Four

Bake some basketball treats! You can get a cake pop pan or a mini muffin pan and bake up some basketball treats like the ones linked below. Wouldn't your kids love coming home from school to such a fun snack?

Basketball Whoopie Pies from MomEndeavors
Basketball Mini Cupcakes
Basketball Cupcakes from Betty Crocker

Basketball Cake Balls from Cutest Food

Or you can stash some basketball themed snacks into your kiddos lunch boxes. Here's an orange I threw into Julianna's lunch today and it took me less than 2 minutes to draw the bball lines on it. Easy peasy!

Number Five

Read a sports themed book, devotional, or watch a basketball related movie. There are lots of good ones listed below and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from the greats (both coaches and players). Plus, sports themes go well with Biblical lessons of perseverance, dedication, endurance, pursuit of the goal, strength, and training. I got this one to read through with my son each night.

• The Pistol
• Coach Wooden's Greatest Secret
• Sports Trivia Devotional
• Maravich Memories - The LSU Years: The Amazing Documentary of Pistol Pete Maravich
• Bounce the Balls and They Will Come
• The Greatest Coach Ever: Timeless Wisdom and Insights of John Wooden
• Man Does Not Live By Sports Alone: Devotions for Men
• 5 Conversations You Must Have With Your Son
• Coach John Wooden: Winning With Principle

Number Six

Go ahead and fill out your tournament brackets. My family has been known to put a giant white board up on our mantel and see who gets the most guesses right throughout the games.  Here's a link to the ACC Tournament bracket (games March 10 - 14) and the NCAA Tournament which starts March 19th.

Right now you can get free shipping on any $50 order at Family Christian and you can always ship for free to your local store. It's a great time to order some crafting supplies and get ready for March Madness!

This post was a lot of fun! I hope it's encouraged you to get into the spirit of March Madness! Even if you don't decorate your house, host a basketball themed party, or read a sports devotional, I hope you'll enjoy watching a game or two. Goodness knows those of us who live here in ACC territory will be glued to our seats with our Wolf, I mean foam fingers raised high!

I'd love to know:
Do you like football or basketball best?
Which basketball team is your favorite? Is your house divided?
Who do you think will win the ACC Tournament?
How about that NC State/Carolina game last night, huh?

unbroken review {+ $25 certificate giveaway}

I was not paid for this post, however Family Christian did send me a copy of Unbroken to read and review and an appreciation certificate. The links below are affiliate links. As always, the opinions expressed below are my own.

My husband and sister both read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand a while back and recommended it to me so I already had it on my To Read list when Family Christian offered to send me a copy to review. This best-selling book is the story about Louis Zamperini, an American runner with a difficult childhood and his fascinating survival of WWII.

Laura Hillenbrand also wrote Seabiscuit which my family loved so I knew if that was any indication then this would be a great book. I was not wrong. This true story will fill your heart with wonder and amazement as you marvel at what our bodies can do and withstand.

You know how sometimes you feel like there's no point in trying anymore? You feel like the enemy is dragging you down over and over again and you don't know how it can possibly happen one more time. I've been there and felt that despair. I've been jobless, depressed, hopeless, and while no, I haven't lost everything like Job did I most certainly have felt the sharks circling the figurative waters near me.

I really felt like God intended for me to read this book. I could relate to so many parts of it and I think at some point we can all say that we have been familiar with that feeling of going through a trial or tribulation and feeling like you're at the bottom. I still can't believe that I actually finished that first marathon. Many of us can speak firsthand about feeling like God used a nobody to do something great. We've all been broken, but God's message is clear; Only He can bring us through suffering to redemption. Louis Zamperini's story will have you rooting for redemption and mesmerized at his despair. This book is one you don't want to skip.

You may have also heard a lot about the movie. It's been in theaters recently and comes out on DVD on March 27th. I think it looks amazing and right now the movie is available for pre-order online.  If you sign up for Family Christian's emails you often get 20% and 30% off coupons or with the 20% off coupon here the book is only $12.80. Also, when you pre-order the Unbroken DVD from Family Christian you get a 3 DVD set called My Hope America for free.

source

Lucky for you, Family Christian has also offered to send one of my readers a $25 gift certificate! You can use it to buy the book, the movie or something else altogether. There are multiple ways to enter. Just use the widget below before Friday. Good luck!




Enter to win a $25 Certificate to Family Christian!


One final bit of good news:
Congratulations to Allison T who was selected as the winner of the Disney Prize Pack.

Winter Jam 2015

Are you going to Winter Jam?  We are and we're so excited. It will actually be the kids first real concert and I'm a little anxious to see what they think of the experience. I'm so thankful that we have the opportunity to do this with them and thrilled that their first concert will be a Christian show.

The show this weekend in Greensboro starts at 6 pm but doors open at 5 pm. If you're not local you can check out the other tour dates here. There are shows through the end of March. Tickets are only $10 and there's a whole slew of artists that will be performing including For King and Country, Jeremy Camp, Building 429, and Francesca Battistelli. I think I'm most excited about hearing "Fix My Eyes."

You really can't beat a concert for $10 especially with a line-up like this. If you're going and you see me, please stop me to say, "Hi!" It's going to be a lot of fun!

Full disclosure: Family Christian was kind enough to send us two free tickets to attend the event. We plan to purchase additional tickets at the door.

-----

Don't forget I have a giveaway going on here that ends today.