A Mama's Rant

The Bunko Babes: A book review

The Bunko Babes by Leah Starr Baker is the story of Becca Thornton and her eclectic bunch of friends known as the “bunko babes.” When Mary at Blog Stop Book Tours asked me to review the book, I saw the word “bunko” and immediately said yes. You see I play bunco (I spell it with a “c” and not a “k” – both are correct) with a eclectic bunch of women, too – everyone from teachers and stay at home moms to 911 dispatchers and women who compete in rodeos.

I couldn’t wait to read The Bunko Babes thinking it would be something like The Fiction Class, Sandra Dallas’s The Persian Pickle Club, or Karen Joy Fowler’s The Jane Austen Book Club. You know, books where a bunch of people (mostly women) come together for a central activity – a writing class, quilting or a book club – and whose lives are full of challenges, romance, revelations, suffering, and joy.

Instead, it’s mostly about Becca and not much about bunco or the babes. Instead, The Bunko Babes as much about Becca’s friends as it is about her relationship with God and her family. She’s a typical mom/wife with all the associated worries, fun, and tribulations. However, she has a funny relationship with her mom (don’t we all?) that doesn’t quite ring true. You see, Becca’s peeved about her mother’s impending remarriage to a minister. She’s a religious woman, so I couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t happy that her mom was was marrying a minister. Geez, that’s almost as good as marrying the Big Man himself! It seemed petty, and too much of a flaw in a character I wanted to like.

It's all about big, hairy dudes

Professional writers, freelancers, bloggers, and aspiring writers are invited to submit a 500 to 750-word memoir, essay or story about MEN at TheNovelette.com writing contest - MEN.

Short stories about loves lost, he done you wrong, you done him wronger, triangulated loves, relationship ups and downs - the list is endless and so are some (but not all) love stories. In any case, MEN is the theme so let the folks at thenovelette.com read your tale.

They've extended the summer deadline to enter the contest AND to vote on entries, to August 30th, and we'll have winners shortly thereafter. Write an essay or short story and send it in!

Submissions will be judged in two categories - by popular online vote and by our editorial panel of professional writers. Winners in each category will receive a $25 gift certificate to Barnes&Noble.com or Amazon.com. You can even win a $50 certificate if one submission wins BOTH!

You’ll also receive a virtual blue ribbon award from thenovelette.com to post on your website and/or include as part of your email signature. It may be worth it just for the linky love, so check it out at thenovelette.com, submit your entry, and vote for your favorite.

(Contest entries accepted until August 30th. Contest voting closes on September 5th.)

Just among us moms

A few months ago, I was at my friend Laura’s house for a meeting of our writer’s group. After lunch, many mugs of tea, and sharing a few of our writings, I stood up to get more food. When I did, I said to Laura, “Great, now I have to pee.”

Laura laughed knowingly, and our friend Jen just looked at us. Jen’s a mom, too, but an adoptive mom. She has a darling daughter from China. I explained to her, “After being pregnant and having two kids, as soon as I stand up I have to go to the bathroom. It’s just one of those things I have to deal with.”

Then I realized, many moms have similar issues. We have to know where the bathroom is at all times, not only for our kids but for ourselves especially if we’re of a “certain age.” It’s amazing how the older we get, the more likely to pee our pants just like we did when we were little girls.

The simple fact is that one in four of us moms suffers from light bladder leakage and dread having to sneeze or laugh too hard. That’s why it’s important to talk about it and pelvic health not only with our gynecologist, but our girlfriends, moms, sisters, daughters, and aunts.

Is your lunch green enough?

The average school-age child who packs a lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That works out to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one average-size elementary school.

So what can you and your children do to reduce the waste?  Here are a few tips inspired by Greenopia. Their Greenopia city guidebooks are an easy-to-understand consumer guide filled with local listings for green retailers, service providers, and organizations.

1. Use reusable drink containers instead of disposable juice boxes, juice pouches, cans, and plastic bottles. An insulated sports bottle works well if your kids are too big for sippy cups. They can fill it up at the water fountain at school. Water is cheaper and healthier, too.
2. Avoid using plastic wraps, plastic bags, wax-paper bags, and aluminum foil - opt for plasticware instead. Even Gladware containers are a good choice. They can be recycled and if your child accidentally throws them out, they’re fairly inexpensive. A bento box type container (I have the Easy-to-Clean Zojirushi SL-JAE14 Mr. Bento Stainless-Steel lined Lunch Jar in Silver and love it!) is a good choice, too – plus they’re fun to use.
3. Cut down on packaging waste by purchasing foods in larger containers that you can recycle at home rather than buying many smaller packaged products. It’s usually cheaper to buy in bulk, too.
4. Choose lunch boxes or backpacks over paper or plastic bags. Get insulated cooler bags and use a re-freezable ice pack to keep your lunch cold.
5. Replace paper napkins with cloth versions. If you think your child will lose a cloth napkin (I do!) try finding paper towels or napkins made from recycled paper.
6. Pack stainless-steel utensils instead of using disposable plastics. Again, your child may lose these or accidentally throw them away. An option would be to prepare foods that you don’t need a utensil for – sandwiches, veggies and dip, etc. If that’s not possible, try to find plastic spoons that can be recycled like Recycline Recycled Plastic Cutlery.

For more green ideas and products see Amazon Green.

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New Chicken Soup for the Soul focuses on "Power Moms"

I received this call for submissions today from the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” people and Phenix & Phenix Literary Publicity. They’re working on the next Chicken Soup’s book, “Chicken Soup for the Power Mom Soul.” The book is slated for publication in May 2009.

They’re looking for witty writers focusing on the unique experience of motherhood. Wendy Walker who wrote the novel Four Wives will be the editor of the book.  

If you questions or would like to confirm your interest in essay submission, you can email Clark Swenson, Assistant Publicist at cswenson at phenixpublicity dot com. You can also find more information by downloading a PDF from Wendy’s site.

Submissions are due September 1.

 

What we did while the Rockies were losing the game

Besides praying for the start of football season, Lucie and I spent some quality time at Coors Field taking pictures:

So now we know what to do when the game gets boring – or just plain bad. Take out the Sony Cybershot DSCW170 and have some fun!

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