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.

WARNING: If you are going to tell me about your latest diet and how I should be following your rice-free goat cheese-enhances food plan just stop your skinny rear end right here. I mean it. You will be in the same category as people who tell me that I should throw out my TV or that I’m harming my kids (who BTW are all over 18) by letting them read non-Christian fiction. I haven’t had a decent treat in three days and I’m in no mood for such silliness. You have been warned.

I got myself back to the big WW. (All you girls above a size 6 know what I’m talking about.) And let’s just say I’m not loving it.

I just saw a whole news item about how “Dieting Doesn’t Work”, right next to another article about how if I don’t lose 10% of my body weight RIGHT NOW I should just resign myself to being an invalid by the time I’m 45.

What is an overweight girl to do?

I have tried so many times. I have lost tons of weight, gained tons of weight, and generally been miserable about it all the time. And I have to say, I’m getting tired.

• I’m tired of people who have never struggled with their weight making it seem like those of us who struggle with their weight are fat just to annoy them.
• I’m tired of Jay Leno and his fat jokes.
• I’m tired of only seeing perfect people on TV unless it’s the first six episodes of The Biggest Loser.
• I’m tired of being told “Diets Don’t Work” and then being shamed because I am having a very hard time making a diet work.

I bet some of you are tired too.

I am trying to pray a lot about this. I am praying until God’s truth becomes a reality for me:

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Proverbs 16:3
Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

So, I’m asking you, my cybery friends – would you pray for me?

Would you pray for me, just today, that I would believed those verses and be transformed by them?

And friend, I would love to do the same for you. You can either leave the prayer in the comments, or e-mail me at kathi at kathilipp.com (I write it like that so spammers won’t grab my address. You know what it really is ) I would be honored to pray for you.

I am so happy to have Adelle Gabrielson as my guest blogger this week! She is sharing with us how “The What’s for Dinner?” Solution has changed her family’s life.

It’s 5:30pm on a Wednesday, and I’m lighting the candles in the dining room. The place-mats are out, dinner is on, and I’m adding a little ambiance before I call the boys to the table.

Sounds like I’ve been working in the kitchen all afternoon, right?

Nope. I got off work exactly one hour ago. Despite that, my family is about to sit down to a home-cooked meal that is made with fresh, healthy ingredients. Spicy Butternut Squash and White Bean soup with a hearty whole wheat bread. Lots of veggies, super healthy, and homemade.

A few weeks ago, we would have been eating frozen chicken nuggets in front of the TV – again. Trader Joe’s freezer section was my main-stay. Every day at 3 o’clock my husband would call me and ask “What’s for dinner?”

I hated that phone call. I hated that question. I don’t know! I’m too busy to worry about dinner -I work full-time, I volunteer in about three-too-many areas, and I am also trying to write a book. How can I possibly know what’s for dinner until about 15 minutes after I get home?

We were eating processed, frozen foods and take-out — and spending a lot of money doing it.

That is, until I read The ”What’s for Dinner?” Solution by Kathi Lipp. I’ve always loved Kathi Lipp. Now my husband is pretty well head-over-heels for her, too.

As of today, just about two weeks since I read the book,  we have three family-sized portions of frozen chicken breasts, trimmed and marinated, waiting in the freezer. $1.77/pound. (Yes,  you read that right!) We also have three packages of cooked chicken, ready for salad or soup. Two meatloaves, pre-cooked, ready to re-heat. (I know it ain’t very posh and Martha Stewart, but I LOVE meatloaf.) Three dozen Italian-style meatballs, scratch made, two spinach quiches, three Shepherd’s pies, and four packages of pre-chopped and measured Mirepoix (a mixture of celery, onion and carrot that is the base for most soups). And a partridge in a pear tree. (Just kidding.)

“That seems like a ton of work!” you might ask -but it really wasn’t. Following Kathi’s advice, instead of preparing one meal, we prepared four. We ate one, and froze three. Instead of tossing the produce into the crisper, where it would turn brilliant colors and be thrown out two  weeks later, we washed and chopped it on the spot.

With Kathi’s help, we are ending our old, wasteful, unhealthy ways. We are planning ahead. We are LOOPing (Left Overs On Purpose)
and we are eating better, day by day, bit by bit.

Last night, I set out my Dutch oven (because enamel is a snap to clean after soup), a can of white beans, and my squash. I also pulled a
can of chicken stock and all my spices out of the cupboard. The longest part of tonight’s dinner preparation was peeling and cutting the squash, and my husband was happy to do that bit. (Guys love to play with knives – it’s the whole cooking with danger thing. Barbecuing and knives…they love it.) If there’s no danger-loving guy around, you can buy pre-cut squash in the refrigerated section of Trader Joe’s, or simply do it up the night before.

A little forethought, and my family was able to sit down at the dining room table together on a weeknight and enjoy a great meal.

Tomorrow, when my husband calls me and asks “What’s for dinner?” I’ll have an answer. “Marinated flank steak and with an orange and feta arugula salad!”

Sounds a lot better than chicken nuggets, or frozen pizza, don’t it? Like I told you. He’s head over heels.

Oh I almost forgot, I want to share with you the recipe for the Butternut and White Bean Soup I made…

Tomorrow! Stay Tuned.

It has been a wild and wooly week around the Lipp household. Not only was the For Women Only Conference this Saturday, (which besides me speaking at, Roger was producing,) but we have also made multiple trips to the ER for my youngest, Kimber. We have finally got it nailed down (bad, nasty strep) and now we are hunkering down with a bunch of girl movies and Jamba Juice smoothies….

So, to catch up on all of you fab winners, I went over to random.com to figure out the winners for all of the giveaways. But don’t worry, if you didn’t win, I have MORE giveaways this week.

Frozen Gourmet
Sandie Allan

The All About Us Series
ckhuggins

Women of Confidence
Kathryn Bechen

For Women Only and The Husband Project
Karen Q

So Long Status Quo
North

If you did win, send me an e-mail at info at kathilipp.com with your address and we will get it right out to you.

More tomorrow.

Hugs, kisses and lots of penicillin,

Kathi

My baby is here…

Isn’t she adorable?

It’s always so weird to get your book – Will I still like it? Is it still where I “am”?  Does it hold up?

I have to say – I really, really like it. It’s the kind of advice I wish I would have been given when I was starting out and cooking for my family of four, and then six.

It feels a little weird to be talking about it, but I’m excited, and you’re my people, so if I can’t talk to you about it, who can I talk to.

If you need a little help getting dinner on the table each and every night, a little inspiration, a plan, check it out on Amazon or if you want it signed (and with the awesome bookmark that has Roger’s Rockin’ Guac recipe) check it out here.

We have a winner.

OK the sad news is I don’t know his/her name, but I do know that this beauty belongs to Kathy Cully.

Kathy, I will let Erin over at Puppy Love By Erin know that you are the big winner.

For all of the rest of you, keep checking in because I will be featuring your pooches in an upcoming post, and we will have another give away sponsored by Erin and my cat Zorro in the next month.

And some other Winners:

The winner of Generation Next Marriage is Jessica!

And the winner of Julie and Julia is Stephanie

Send me an e-mail at blog@kathilipp.com with your address and we will get these in the mail!

The Food? Fabulous.
The Bed? Super comfy.
The bathroom? A city block away from our yurt.
The number of times I needed said bathroom between 11 PM and 7AM? 3
The ROCKSTAR husband who wouldn’t let me walk alone because of the scary noises? Roger.
That’s true love girlfriend.

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!

Congratulations to Stephanie, our project manager who won this week’s prize, Camy Tang’s book “Only Uni” by submitting the following comment regarding Project 5: Text or Email Some Sweet Nothings. Click here to read more Project 5 comments.

Stephanie says:

My most successful project so far has been– believe it or not– the text messaging. It never occurred to me to send a text message to my own husband! (Then again, I don’t text anyone really… but I digress.) So it really struck my hubby as something out of the ordinary. Not only that, it was a rather long one that included prayer for him in his work & spiritual life; and he was duly impressed with the amount of time and thought I put into it. I felt so good for having blessed him. The bonus came a few weeks later. He had just left for an international business trip & knew that our week would be a tough one at home (3 wee ones). When he arrived at his destination, he sent me a text message (a long one!), letting me know he was safe & wishing us a “successful” time back home. That really blessed my socks off!

To Stephanie: Please contact us at kathi@thehusbandproject.org, so we can send the book, “Only Uni” to you right away.

To all Project Managers: Remember to submit your comments. Other project managers enjoy reading comments to get ideas and see how other hubbies are responding. Your comment can be short and sweet, or you can provide as many details as you like. With each entry your name is entered into our weekly drawing.

New Prize for This Week:

Be sure to enter a comment and have a chance to win this week’s prize: a $10 Bath and Body Works gift card. Click here to leave a comment and get entered today.

Keep up the blessings for your guy!

Kathi