Money-saving tips to get organized, dangers of wicca and The Shack. Huh???

Published October 9, 2008 Abunga.com , Books , Family 0 Comments
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When we launched the Authors@Abunga online chat program in July 2008 our hope was that we could connect readers with some of their favorite authors and maybe make a few book sales in the process. One of the biggest challenges for the program turned out to be that we have a plethora of authors wishing to participate.   It is a challenge only in the sense that we do not have enough time slots to handle this demand.  What an awesome problem to have.

One of the nicest surprises about the program for me is the depth and breadth of topics and authors we have hosted chats for so far.  As a parent I really appreciate the topics that surround raising my children.  For example we have chatted about the dangers of Wicca, self-mutilation, Internet addiction and sexual promiscuity and we have even had a teen fiction author talk about how her stories promote positive self-esteem.  We have had so many good topics and authors I do not want to leave anyone out so I encourage you to please visit our Author Chat Archive page for downloadable transcripts from each author chat.

Gavin and Paul

Gavin and Paul

I am so excited about the October chat line-up too.  Yesterday we had actress, comedian and author Kerri Pomarolli who had so many funny stories about the single life. Coming up next week we have Kathy Peel who will give us money saving tips on having an organized home - who can’t use that in today’s economy? On October 22 we have William Paul Young, author of NYT bestseller The Shack.  He and Abunga’s CEO are at the same conference as I write this post so I am a little jealous that he gets to hear the “real story” first hand.  It will definitely be interesting to read Paul’s thoughts on how and why he wrote the book. I have a feeling it is not why most people think. Kay Warren, wife of Rick Warren of Purpose Driven Life, will round out the month talking about her book, Dangerous Surrender, and her passion for HIV/AIDS victims in Africa. 

 

Awesome…  How many times do you get the opportunity to talk to authors like this directly and ask them the things you really want to know about their stories, their work or their passions in life?

If you have not visited one of our author chats yet you should definitely check it out. Authors@Abunga is every Wednesday at 2:00 pm EST. Chat transcripts are available a couple of days following each chat.


If you have attended a chat I would like to know what you thought and if you haven’t yet, tell me who you want to chat with next year. Post your comments to the blog.

Chat with you again soon.

~Kerri

Surprise Jackpot in Las Vegas

Published September 26, 2008 Family , Vacation , friends 2 Comments
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I turned 40 this past Wednesday (September 24). My fabulous husband surprised me with a birthday trip to Las Vegas, NV where I lived for 11 years before moving to Knoxville, TN.   

 

I happened to mention to my husband several weeks ago that I would love to visit Las Vegas and celebrate my 40th with my friends and family. It was only mentioned once and only in passing.  Wow - what a surprise.

 

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and planned to have dinner at the Bootlegger Bistro with my best friends in Vegas, Greg and Michele, my parents, aunt and brother & sister-in-law. Instead I was greeted at dinner by my friends, my family mentioned above (who drove in from Albuquerque, NM) and also by my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Don (he is my favorite uncle) who flew in from Nebraska. My best friend Kim from childhood was supposed to fly in from Montana but had to cancel at the last minute.  Her husband in serving in our National Guard and was called to duty. Needless to say I was very overwhelmed and very surprised by all of my dinner companions. 

 

The next day the surprises kept on coming!  That afternoon I thought we were going to Greg and Michele’s for a nice quiet visit but instead I found myself at a party for me with everyone from the night before and some additional surprise visitors – one who even flew in from Reno, NV.  Wow!

 

Hoover Dam

Hoover Dam

On Monday the festivities slowed down a bit and my husband and I were able to slip away to eat breakfast at Blueberry Hill (one of my favorite Vegas hangouts) and take a tour of Hoover Dam.  What an amazing construction and engineering masterpiece.

 

The entire weekend was a beautiful experience although somewhat surreal… to have all those people whom I love so dearly in the same place at the same time was truly amazing.  With the exception of my family in Albuquerque no one else had met my husband yet (we married in December 2006).  This trip provided an opportunity for him to meet more of my family and some of my very dear friends. We made several beautiful new memories that I will treasure forever.

 

My very sneaky husband is a very thoughtful man – I think I’ll keep him.

 

Have you ever been surprised?  Post a comment and tell me about it.

 

-Kerri

 

 

 

 

Sarah Palin - wife, mother, powerhouse

Published September 11, 2008 Books , Family , Resource 6 Comments
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Sarah Palin is a very impressive individual.  I realize my opinion is not sought after in any political circles but I do represent an average voter and I think she is fabulous.  I am a wife and mother – just like her.  I have a strong faith and ethical principles – just like her.  I have family struggles and challenges – just like her. I am an intelligent and powerful woman – just like her.  Ok, so maybe I am not as powerful as she is but the point is that I can relate to her on many levels.

 

Like most of the country I first saw her when she gave her speech at the Republican National Convention. I found her to be articulate, intelligent, confident and very feminine. Many of things we want our daughters to be. I have a great respect for her and what she has accomplished in her life so far.

 

Whether or not you agree with where she stands on the issues I would think it’s hard not to be impressed. If you are interested on where she stands on the issues a great resource is OnTheIssues.org. The site provides information where each candidate stands.

 

There is a new book coming out about Palin called Sarah: How a Hockey Mom Turned the Political Establishment Upside Down by Kaylene Johnson. It should be available on Abunga.com very soon.  I am looking forward to reading it.

 

To me, Sarah Palin is an excellent example of what women can accomplish – wife, mother, woman of faith, public servant and just plain powerhouse.  John McCain chose well for his running mate. 

I would very much be interested in what you think about her.  Feel free to post a comment.

 

~Kerri

Delayed Gratification from the Kids

Published August 20, 2008 Abunga.com , Books , Parenting 0 Comments
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As the nomination period for the Abunga.com Kids’ Choice Book Award comes to a close I am in awe at the variety of books chosen by our young readers.  In looking at the report that shows all the books nominated and read this summer it got me thinking about how we sometimes gently nudge our children towards entertainment that we think they would like instead of what we know they like.

 

Sometimes this strategy of picking something for my kids that I think they will like often backfires – I read or watch something that I think my kids would like and they look at me like I am crazy.  At other times the outcome provides me with some delayed gratification.  About four years ago I bought my oldest son the book The Door Within by Wayne Thomas Batson.  It sat on his bookshelf for three years before he picked it up to read “because he was “bored”.  He read the book within a day and then came to me asking urgently for the other two in the series: The Rise of the Wyrm Lord and The Final Storm.  Kids are so funny!

 

~Kerri

Book Awards and $20 Gift Certificate for the kids

Published August 6, 2008 Abunga.com , Books , Family 2 Comments
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It is August again and that means its back-to-school time. If your kids are like mine they are just as glad as I am that the school year is here (even if they won’t admit it out loud).

To help promote the benefits of reading this summer Abunga.com announced our first Abunga Kids’ Choice Book Award. Kids can go online now through September 1 and nominate their favorite books read over the summer. The winning book will be announced September 15. Each child who makes a nomination is entered into a drawing to receive a $20 Abunga.com gift certificate. There are different categories based on grade levels and one gift certificate will be awarded per grade level category. For more information view our press release.

My hope is to get the word out to teachers these first couple of weeks of school about the book award nominations and the incentive for students. We have a bookmark that can be downloaded from the web site to be distributed in the classroom. Please feel free to pass this information along to any students or teachers you know.

Speaking of classrooms, I am brainstorming creative ways to create a program on Abunga where teachers could win Abunga gift certificates as well. We need to support our nation’s teachers any way possible and gift certificates to a bookstore with deep discounts on the books they buy for their students would be a great way to do this.

If you have any creative ideas on a program Abunga.com could implement to help teachers stock up on book for their classrooms I would love to hear about it. You can post your comments to the blog or send me an email at customerservice@abunga.com.

Enjoy the breather as the kids head back to school. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea, curl up on the couch and grab a good book to read. If you are looking for a new book to read I know where you can find a million or so to choose from.

~Kerri

Help! My Blender is stuck on grind

Published July 31, 2008 Encouragement , Family , Resource 0 Comments
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When my husband and I married 18 months ago we were so excited to start our new life with our blended family. Webster lists multiple definitions for the word blend.  My favorite one in relation to my blended family is “to produce a harmonious effect.”  This is what I strive for on a regular basis.  What I achieve on the other hand is something not quite so tranquil.  Many days it feels like our “blender” is stuck on grind which means “to wear down, polish, or sharpen by friction.”

 

Friction sometimes rules the day. The good news is my husband and I never for one second thought this was going to be easy.  While we sometimes get stuck on grind for awhile we always eventually remember the word in the middle of that definition for grind: polish.  God is polishing each one of us to produce a harmonious effect. We handle the friction one spark at a time.

 

It is truly a blessing to be in a marriage where we are both committed to finding the right balance to make the blending of our family to produce a harmonious effect instead of a daily grind.

 

There are so many resources out there to help with blending families.  My husband and I have sought out several. I recently read an article called Enduring Disharmony by Ron L. Deal which I found to be useful.  I also recently came across the Blending a Family web site by Moe & Paige Becnel.   It had some good information.  Of course Abunga.com has many books on the subject of step-families as well.

 

I would love to hear about your experience and success stories on blending a family plus any resources you have found helpful. You can post your comments to the blog or send us an email at customerservice@abunga.com.

 

~Kerri

Success for Authors @ Abunga and a sigh of relief for me!

Published July 17, 2008 Abunga.com , Books 0 Comments
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Implementing a new program at work can be stressful.  We launched our new Authors @ Abunga program yesterday with Author Melanie Wells as our first guest author.  Melanie was a real trooper as we worked out the last minute challenges that always come with new programs.

 

My fellow Abunga team members are also real troopers as they graciously tolerated my constant checking and re-checking of every detail. One of my greatest strengths is that I am detail-oriented and one of my weaknesses is that I can obsess on each detail to the nth degree!

 

Thanks to Melanie and the Abunga team the chat was a fabulous success if I do say so myself!  It was very cool to ask questions and get a real sense of her personality and who she is as a person.  She is very witty.

 

I am reading Melanie’s latest book “My Soul to Keep” and boy is it a page-turner! My goal was to have finished the book before the chat but I spent so much time making sure the rest of you could enjoy the chat I did not have time to finish it.  Guess what I’ll be doing this weekend? Well yes, sleeping but I’ll also be finishing the book!

 

 

Did you attend the Authors @ Abunga chat? The chat transcript can be found on Melanie’s featured author page.  Tell us what you thought about it by posting comment/suggestions to the blog or emailing us customerservice@abunga.com.

 

Have a chatty day!

 

~Kerri

Chat with your favorite Authors @ Abunga

Published July 7, 2008 Abunga.com 0 Comments
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I’ve got some exciting news! As mentioned in the Gavin’s post on Tuesday July 1, we’ve got plenty of changes coming and I get to share the first one with you now. In a press release on July 2 we announced our new program to help you connect with the authors you love, Authors @ Abunga.  Every other Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. EST we will feature a live online chat with an author starting next week! Check out the Authors @ Abunga link here to find out more details on the program.

Our first chat on July 16 will feature Melanie Wells, author of the recently released My Soul to Keep. Melanie is a critically acclaimed author of psychological thrillers.  I personally cannot wait to find out more about what motivates her to write the way she does.

We would love to hear which authors you would like to connect with on Authors @ Abunga.  You can post your comments or suggestions to the blog or send us an email at customerservice@abunga.com.

~Kerri

Family Fun without fuel, festivals and more

Published July 3, 2008 Family 0 Comments
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Welcome to my very first blog post ever!  Hi, I am Kerri the CMO at Abunga and a not-so-hip mother.  Really - just ask my children.  They think I am very un-cool most of the time. I am the mother of two children (Cory, 15 and Justin, 12) and two step-children (Ryan, 14 and Belle, 11).  They are all terrific kids and definitely keep us busy. 

 

 

My husband Richard and I are always looking for fun and interesting things to do with the kids to break up the time they spend playing video games or watching television.  Richard comes up with some very interesting places for the family to visit – he likes to take us to festivals around the state of Tennessee.  Before I married him it never would have occurred to me to pile the kids in the car and head off to some small town I have never heard of to check out events like the Pumpkin Festival or the Tennessee Renaissance Festival.  We have been to so many I could not remember them all if I tried and I certainly could not tell you where they are all located.  My boys and I have been in Tennessee for 5 years now and I am still learning my way around the state.   

 

 

As gas prices continue to rise we are not sure how many festivals we will make this summer.  However, I am still in search of things to keep my kids entertained besides letting them sit in front of the computer or television all day long.  It is a good thing that I work for an online bookstore – books can transport the kids into another world without ever leaving our home.

 

 

Cory and Justin, much to their dismay, have been instructed by their not-so-hop mom to read an hour per day. I may not be cool but I am sneaky. I know that once they get involved in a book they like they will read for much longer than an hour! 

 

 

Cory loves the author Ted Dekker.  He is currently reading Renegade, part of Dekker’s Lost Books Series. He’ll be finished in a day or so and then on the fourth book Chaos.  Justin has picked up one of Cory’s old series and just finished the first book Dragonspell by Danita K. Paul. Book two in the Dragonspell series is Dragonquest.

 

 

If you have any creative ideas of how to keep the kids busy this summer we would love to hear about them.  You can post your comments to the blog or send us an email at customerservice@abunga.com.

 

 

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July. Look for a festival near you and bring a book along for the ride!

 

 

~Kerri

 

 

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