Remember, starting Monday October 5^th we will be kicking off The Husband Project Challenge- 21 Days of Loving Your Man On Purpose and with a Plan. Win a copy of the book this week or purchase it in my shop (we are having a special to celebrate this month.) But hey, you can do the challenge without the book – but what’s the fun in that?)

Oh, and congrats to Deann, who won Tuesday‘s book!

If you have read The Husband Project, you know that one of the major aspects of the plan is to get together with a few friends and hold each other accountable throughout the 21 days of the project. (And trust me, when you are assigned to be nice to your man for 21 days, you are going to need all the friends you can get in order not to quit…)

Well, you are going to have some MAJOR accountability since y’all are doing the Project with me on the blog. But, it is also good to have one or two friends who are your “fleshy friends”. Women who know you a little bit deeper than a bunch of people (albeit, a rockin’ group of people…) that you don’t know real well.

So while we are all going to have a lot of fun, I want you to get as much accountability around you as possible, from my group, and your own.

To get the word out to your friends so that they can support you and you can support them, I’m going to encourage you with some extra swag and some extra chances to win.

For the next three days, you will be entered into the drawing just by leaving a comment in the section below. All I want to know is who you want to be doing the Project with – your sister, your best friend, or your bestest bloggy friend.

And if you put a link to this post up on Facebook or Twitter (and in a separate comment let me know that you did) I will enter you another time. You can enter up to twice a day. (Cause it is going to be just that much fun.)

On Friday, I will pick three winners, each of whom will receive a Husband Project Gift Pack, including:

• A Copy of The Husband Project

• The Husband Project DVD

• The Husband Project Leader’s CD

• The Frozen Gourmet

Cool huh?

First off, BIG CONGRATS to Monica Lonigan who won yesterday’s book! Enter today below.

So, are you in?

Is it time to give your hubby a little extra loving?

As I have been talking about here on the blog for a few days now, the whole month of October is going to be Husband Month here on the blog. We are gearing up for a lot of man lovin’ and I just have one question for you.

So, are you in?

Are you willing to step up and say “Yes! For 21 days I will spend 5 extra minutes a day loving my man on purpose. I will think about what he wants for dinner instead of just what my kids will eat. I will wear something to bed for one night that doesn’t have the word “GAP” printed on it! YES, I am ready for the challenge!”

Or, maybe it is just: “Yes, my friend has guilted me into it.”

Either answer is perfectly acceptable.

I know it is never a good time to work on this stuff. I know that you are busy and going into the holidays and you are the room mom and work is extra busy.

I promise, we are going to keep it fun. I am going to do a give away EVERY SINGLE DAY of the project. Lots of women will be sharing their wisdom, their stories and their recipes.

So, are you in?

If you are, let me know in the comments below before 9:00 pm PST on Tuesday and I will enter your name into Tuesday’s drawing. Then be sure to check back on Wednesday to see if you won.

I want every one of my blog readers to look back years from now and remember that October was one of the best months of your marriage.

So, are you in?

In preparation for our Husband Project 21 Day Challenge in October, I am going to be giving away five copies of the book this week. (If you already have a copy of the book, this would be a great opportunity to win one for a friend to do the Project with!)

So today, please let us all know one thing you really LIKE about your husband – yes, I know that you LOVE your husband because he is kind and loves God, but let’s be a bit more superficial – what do you LIKE about your husband.

• The way he can BBQ the chicken without drying it out.
  
• The fact that he will watch a chick movie with you.
  
• His Jim Carrey impression.
  
• The way he looks in his jeans.
  

(Just so you know, Roger qualifies for three out of four of those listed. And he doesn’t do any impressions…)

Leave your comment here and let me know why you like your husband and you will be entered into the drawing to win the book. Check in tomorrow to see if you won and if you didn’t, you will have a chance to win tomorrow.

I now have a new blog that I love. (And no, it’s not just because she wrote a fun, kickin’ review of The Husband Project.)

She is giving away a copy of The Husband Project to a reader so go check it out at: Marla’s Blog

Which, may I say, is just in time. Because we are doing The Husband Project as a big ‘ol group right here on the blog. So head on over there to win.

But, if you don’t win, don’t worry. We are having a special here so that for the purposes of The Husband Project Blog Challenge, you can purchase the book for just $10. (When I go to speak at events, I call this the Accountability Discount. Tell me you are doing the Project with a friend and save $3.00. Since you will be doing it on the blog, I know you will be doing it with a friend – me!)

Even if you have already done The Project, join us here and do a little tune up – husband-wise.

We will do the prep week of the Project starting on November 2^nd, and start on the 21 days of the 9^th.

We are still getting ready for whatever is going to be hitting in your area of your country this fall and winter. One of my bloggy BFFs, Stacy Cohen, is sharing some great info to get ready.

Just so you know, what I have been doing to get ready is making up my supply kit a little bit at a time. Each week I am going to the store and get a few more things at the same time I’m picking up prescriptions or buying groceries (to go along with the frozen meals.)

Here is what Stacy has to say:

In honor of National Preparedness Month, the Ad Council and FEMA are launching a new series of public service advertisements on behalf of the Ready Campaign. http://www.ready.gov/

The goal of the Ready Campaign is to get the public involved and ultimately to increase the level of basic preparedness across the nation. Ready is nationwide effort to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools.

The campaign asks individuals to:

(1) get an emergency supply kit

(2) make a family emergency plan

(3) be informed about the different types of emergencies that could occur and their appropriate responses

I thought you might be interested in sharing this important information with your readers. Here is an interactive widget you can embed on your blog that provides updates on emergency situations, emergency kit checklists, and preparedness guidelines: http://seed.sproutbuilder.com/vgA3Qu3yD0Rq3Krh

Your readers also might be interested in using this interactive emergency family plan tool: http://ready.adcouncil.org/beprepared/

Please let me know if you have any questions or need additional information. Thanks for your help in spreading this important message and encouraging your readers to be prepared!

Hi friends. It has been a busy week here at the condo as I am speaking six times in the next couple of weeks all over N. CA. So I have been a bit quite on the blog, but in other places, you just can’t shut me up.

Yesterday I was a guest on Dr. Carolyn Miller’s Getting Good at Life. If you would like to hear the interview (where, besides all that getting good at life stuff, I talk about Freezer Cooking!) you can listen here.

And, for all my friends who have ever come up to me and said, “I wanna be a speaker when I grow up.” I want to let you know that I have a monthly blog column on the CAN (Christian Authors Network) about speaking as a writer. If you go check it out and make a comment there or here, I will put you in a drawing for the booklet 5 Steps to Kick Start Your Speaking Career. (I will draw names on Monday and announce on Tuesday!)

This is only for my blog readers, so make sure you let me know you read the blog (cause I can’t help it, I love y’all best.)

For the next few blog postings, I am going to be concentrating on getting prepared for all kinds of emergencies around the house and on the road. First up, the car kit.

The reason I love the idea of doing this as a group so much is that we all have the best of intentions.

Everyone wants to be prepared for a situation that requires you to have emergency supplies on hand. I love being the person who is able to say, “Why yes! I do have a pair of tweezers in my car.” (No one needs to know that they are not in my emergency kit, but in my ashtray/change holder so that when I see that stray facial hair reflected so perfectly in the review mirror in the morning sun, I can get it.)

But actually sitting down and pulling that kit together. Ugh.

So here is yet another instance where peer pressure rocks. It could be your MOPS group, your Bunco group, or just a few friends, but doing it together will help you actually get it done.

PLUS, I bet one of you went wild for Y2K and have lots of supplies you could donate to the rest of the block. (Just make sure that all of those supplies are still usable…)

Car Kit:

Have each person bring their own:

• Scissors
• Tweezers
• Flashlight/batteries
• Some sort of container or case.

  If you are doing this as a group, you could get pencil boxes from the dollar store, or use Ziploc bags. If you are putting it together yourself, your container could be anything from a large Tupperware container, to an old backpack or purse.
  

   

Group Items:

• Instant cold pack
• Emergency blanket /space blanket
• Assorted bandages (Band Aid, Curaid, etc.)
• Bottled water
• Sterile or non-sterile rolled gauze
• Assorted sterile dressings
• Bandage tape
• Instant cold pack
• Bite/sting relief
• Disposable latex gloves
• Disposable CPR mask
• Sanitary Napkins

Make Sure to Have in the Car:

Flares

If you are going to be ordering a lot of supplies for a group, check out the supplies at FirstAidMonster.com. The prices are SO reasonable, it would be great for a group.

When it comes to emergency preparedness, I am a slacker.

Yes, I may have 42 meals in my freezer, but a fat lot of good that is going to do me if there is an earthquake (did I mention that I live in California,) and we lose power.

And I have to say that I haven’t always been the most prepared person on the block. Once, I had gone to a MOPS group where they made emergency car kits. (I will give you the list on Monday if you want to do this with a group of your own. Kind of like a Freezer Meal Swap but with bandaides and tongue depressers.) One of the items in the kit was a sanitary napkin  – great for pressing against a head injury.

When I explained the purpose of the pad to my son Justen, his response was, “Promise me you will just let me bleed to death…”

Apparently, my kids are not always safety first, either.

So I am going to spend the next couple of weeks working on my disaster prep. Wanna do it with me?

I will give you lists of what you need to have on hand, great links and ideas from the best in the business to be prepared for everything from earthquakes to the latest on what you should have for the swine flu.

Don’t worry. I’m not panicing, but we all need to Amodia AD on hand anyway, right?

Starting on Monday, I will be getting my plan together and share it with you.

Let’s be safety girls!

Announcement for October!

I am so excited to announce that for the month of October, it is going to be a month dedicated to making him feel like a rock star.

We will be doing an online group of The Husband Project – a few days to ramp up, and then 21 Days of Loving Your Man – On Purpose and with a Plan. So even if you have done it as a group, or if this is your first time, you can pop in at any point.

Also, for the 21 days of the Project, we will be giving away a prize a day, and you will be able to purchase the book at a great price starting next week.

So make it on your calendars, FB your friends and dust off your Victoria’s Secret purchases. We’re doing the Project~

Here are the winners from last week!

Mary

August 31, 2009 at 8:17 pm

Ann K.

September 1, 2009 at 4:54 am

Camille

September 3, 2009 at 3:09 pm

Please send me an e-mail with your mailing address and I will get your Frozen Gourmet Cookbook in the mail to you right away!

In response to the questions from the blog this week, I am answering questions on the etiquette of meal swapping.

Jessica says: I’m anxious to hear about what to do if you can’t stomach someone else’s food Maybe you could give those to someone in need…a new mom or new neighbor or something? They’re still being put to good use, and it’s something you would have (or should have!) done anyways.

And Jillian in Canada says: My question is: What do you do with a casserole that turns out great, but your family doesn’t love. I would be happy to give it to another family, but it seems rude! What are your thoughts?

Wendy G says: Looking forward to the next post…I’m wondering what to do with the meal swapping idea if you don’t like the meals that are being made from one or more of your friends! Could get touchy…

There seems to be great concern re: what to do if someone else’s food, well… isn’t something that your family would enjoy.

This happened when we did our exchange. Here were a couple of solutions that worked to keep things running smoothly:

1. Pick your people carefully. If your best friend at church is, let’s gently say, high maintenance, you may want to save the friendship and skip the meal swap.
   You need to swap with people who can roll with it. You can make the occasional adjustment to a recipe (leave out the mushrooms for one family, etc.) But if one family wants to only eat organic, another is vegan, and another is trying to keep their grocery bill at below $3 a meal, it is not going to work. BUT, if you can find other families who are willing to have open discussions, it can work wonderfully. We had a waiting list of people who wanted to join.
   
2. Share the recipes ahead of time. If you choose the recipes that you want to do, then send them out by e-mail, you will have a chance to ask for accommodations (see the mushrooms above), or, if it gets a thumbs down from more than half of the group, it would be best to choose another recipe. It is a bit easier to say no to a recipe before someone has gone to all the trouble to make it. Remember, this is not the time to bring out your exotic recipes of citrus-infused venison. Make some family basics that everyone would enjoy and you will be successful in the swap.
   
3. You swap – and you hate what your friend made. One of the things we did was before we did the next swap, we would send out the list and give a thumbs up to the recipes that we wanted to repeat. (So, if you don’t get at least three thumbs up from a group of five other people, then it would be wise not to repeat it.)
   
4. Do a trial, and then reevaluate. When you organize a meal swap, agree to try it out for two swap trial, and then decide if you a) want to keep doing the swap b)make some changes to how you are doing things c) bow out without any hurt feelings. Remember –it is just food.