Russell Crowe as NOAH

The trailer for Paramount’s highly anticipated blockbuster NOAH has finally arrived! You won't believe this cast: Russell Crowe, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Jennifer Connelly and Emma Watson. Big time names that bring the Bible to life. Anyone who thinks the Bible is boring will be wowed by NOAH. It has drama of "biblical proportions" you might say. 

Synopsis: After visions of an apocalyptic deluge, Noah, the world’s only righteous man, is chosen to undertake a divine mission to build a massive ark to save his family and all of creation before the impending rains fall and the flood waters rise. 

But NOAH lets go of the Sunday school image of a bearded old man holding a dove beneath a rainbow. It captures the grit of God's charge to Noah. I can't wait to see this one on the big screen.

Meanwhile, here's the trailer to tantalize you:



Enter to win:

This month, every person who uses the buttons below to purchase a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny or Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run or The Beast of Blue Mountain will be entered in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh apron (a $23.00 value). The apron reads If Mama Don't Laugh It Ain't Funny and is Teflon coated to resist stains. Winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified on Monday, December 2.

Buy one of each book and have your name entered in the drawing three times. Buying two of the three books enters your name two times. Buying one of the three books enters your name one time.

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Get more for your money with an If Mama Gift Bundle.

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If Mama Don't Laugh Gift Bundle

Special Offer! Special Offer! Special Offer!

No Coupon Code Needed!

The first six (6) people to use the PayPal button below to order a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny ($14.95) will receive an If Mama Don't Laugh ball cap for FREE (valued at $17.00). S&H is added to the order at checkout. 

Give the gift of laughter this holiday season.

 

***Once six orders are received, I will post a message here. After that, signed books may still be ordered using the PayPal button, but will not be coupled with free ballcaps.

And Don't Forget, your purchase also enters you in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh Apron:

This month, every person who uses the buttons below to purchase a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny or Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run or The Beast of Blue Mountain will be entered in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh apron (a $23.00 value). The apron reads If Mama Don't Laugh It Ain't Funny and is Teflon coated to resist stains. Winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified on Monday, December 2.



Buy one of each book and have your name entered in the drawing three times. Buying two of the three books enters your name two times. Buying one of the three books enters your name one time.

$14.95

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I'm Planning to Dance More

My family knew just what I needed for my birthday: more music, more singing, more dancing. So they gave me this JawBone by JamBox. It connects to my iPhone via Bluetooth and projects my Pandora tunes 360-degrees. It's smaller than my youngest son's shoe and more powerful than the shoe's potent aroma.

It already has me doing a mighty fine jig. Being halfway to a right angle, which is virtually halfway to heaven by my calculations, I believe I have license to dance like no one is watching. Unfortunately, someone was watching . . . and recording:

It was the smell of the child's shoes that gave him away. 

My children have suggested, though they say they do not wish to discourage me from dancing, that I may not want to do this particular move anymore.

Kids. What do they know?

Reminder:

This month, every person who uses the buttons below to purchase a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny or Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run or The Beast of Blue Mountain will be entered in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh apron (a $23.00 value). The apron reads If Mama Don't Laugh It Ain't Funny and is Teflon coated to resist stains. Winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified on Monday, December 2.



Buy one of each book and have your name entered in the drawing three times. Buying two of the three books enters your name two times. Buying one of the three books enters your name one time.

$14.95

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The Goods on Gratitude

A November tradition has sprung forth from the well of social media: 30 Days of Thankfulness. People poised to pounce on Christmas as soon as the turkey is taken from the table and reduced to sandwich meat status are committing to only 28 days this year. Purists go for 30. Purists are rare.

But the point of this post is not to debate differences between purists and holiday hijackers. I write today to discuss the actual nature of gratitude and it's expression on social media platforms. 

My family keeps track of thankfulness in November by writing on the paper tablecloth.

Our creator desires our gratitude and deserves our thanks for all that we have. Whether we do it publicly (on FaceBook and Twitter) or privately (on the tablecloth), expressing thankfulness is a wonderful act. But when doing it publicly, one must demonstrate that she understands the essence of gratitude.

Gratitude shows humility. Saying a sincere thank you is to admit that the person, place or thing for which one is thankful is someone, somewhere or something that came into one's life not because it was deserved, not because it was earned, not because it was attained solely through willful effort, but because it was gifted, presumably by a higher power.

True gratitude has three elements:

• Humility
• Sincerity
• Selflessness

Unfortunately some people playing the social media 28-30 days of thankfulness game are missing the mark and reverting to their usual social media madness of self-adoration and braggadocio.Three examples of actual "thankful" posts:

 

Example 1: I am thankful for being able to give and receive kind acts. 

Example 2: Today I am honored that my friend Cheryl asked me to take her to the hospital for some tests. I am in gratitude for this day and for being able to tithe. 

Example 3: I am thankful for my parents who raised me to be a Christian, hard worker, loyal friend, loving mother, honest, dedicated, committed, and positive person and role model to those I meet each day. 

I see a terrible pattern in these posts that worsens day by day. What these people really meant to say is I'm thankful I am sooooo amazing.  

I'm thankful I'm amazing, too, which is why I'm writing my thankfulness on the tablecloth so I don't slip up and make a spectacle of myself on a public social media platform. No one ever went wrong silently scribbling gratitude with old-fashioned pen and paper for trivialities of life like 

squirrels












                 or bacon

or belts.

  
Because I am thankful for you:

This month, every person who uses the buttons below to purchase a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny or Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run or The Beast of Blue Mountain will be entered in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh apron (a $23.00 value). The apron reads If Mama Don't Laugh It Ain't Funny and is Teflon coated to resist stains. Winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified on Monday, December 2.

Buy one of each book and have your name entered in the drawing three times. Buying two of the three books enters your name two times. Buying one of the three books enters your name one time.

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More Than One Way to Mark the Years

Today is my birthday. My dear grandmother, were she alive, would advise me to take to my bed with the vapors and let my family wait on me hand-and-foot for the duration of my annual illness. A southern lady to her core, my grandmother succeeded in dying without anyone, not even my grandfather, knowing her exact age. 

But there's more than one way of marking the years. One doesn't have to come right out and garishly count them. As my grandmother would say, "That's so common."

This morning, in response to the birthday wishes from my children and husband, I pointed out, cheerily I might add, that I am halfway to a right angle. And, since my genetic makeup has instilled in me an innate need to always be right, especially when engaging my siblings, this is a fantastic milestone. Who doesn't want to be right? Right?

"It's like I'm halfway to heaven!" I exclaimed.

"You're just as close to flat lining," remarked my beloved spouse. (He's the risk taker in the family.)

My grandmother would advise me at this juncture that I have been far more graphic than a southern lady should. So adieu. I'm off to enjoy my birthday!

Reminder:

This month, every person who uses the buttons below to purchase a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny or Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run or The Beast of Blue Mountain will be entered in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh apron (a $23.00 value). The apron reads If Mama Don't Laugh It Ain't Funny and is Teflon coated to resist stains. Winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified on Monday, December 2.

Buy one of each book and have your name entered in the drawing three times. Buying two of the three books enters your name two times. Buying one of the three books enters your name one time.

$14.95

$15.95

$9.95

Give a Thoughtful Gift

Books make thoughtful gifts. The gift of a book says:

• I think you're intelligent.
• I think you have a big vocabulary.
• I hope you'll let me read it when you're finished.

This month, every person who uses the buttons below to purchase a signed copy of If Mama Don't Laugh, It Ain't Funny or Tuck Your Skirt in Your Panties and Run or The Beast of Blue Mountain will be entered in a drawing to win an If Mama Don't Laugh apron (a $23.00 value). The apron reads If Mama Don't Laugh It Ain't Funny and is Teflon coated to resist stains. Winner will be selected in a random drawing and notified on Monday, December 2.

Buy one of each book and have your name entered in the drawing three times. Buying two of the three books enters your name two times. Buying one of the three books enters your name one time.

$14.95

$15.95

$9.95

Countdown to Thanksgiving!

It seems like a month of Thursdays until Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving Countdown

Nothing gets me in the mood for Thanksgiving like The Turkey Song sung by my Thanksgiving hero, Adam Sandler: