Review: Hallmark Card Studio 2009

I will be the first to admit that I am terrible at sending cards. I never seem to remember until the birthday or event is already here or past. I would like to do more than just send a quick e-mail saying "Happy Birthday". I think that I now have the tool I need to help me do that.

I was asked to evaluate and review Hallmark Card Studio 2009 (HCS). HCS gives you the ability to create and personalize cards for just about any occasion. It has over 5,000 Hallmark cards and projects for all occasions. It has over 600 designs and 9,000 clip art images.

Installation

The disk is a dvd and needs a dvd drive. If you only have a CD-ROM drive, you can exchange it for a cd version for free. Details are on an insert with the dvd.

Installation was easy. After putting the disk in the drive, I just followed the prompts on the screen. One of the prompts asks if you want to setup a kid lock. Some of the cards have content that is inappropriate for children. So I chose to set a password for that content. It took 14 minutes to completely install. If you register after installing, you will be able to download a bonus collection of birthday cards.

Card Making

There are thousands of pre-made cards that you can click on, personalize and print in minutes. There are cards for birthdays, holidays, and special occasions. There is a day-by-day section that has cards for thank you, friends, secret pal, bon voyage, sympathy and get well. There are also cards in Spanish and for step-families.

If you would like to start from scratch, you can choose the art studio. The art studio allows you to use their clip art and sentiments or use your own.

If you wish, you can personalize cards by adding your own photos.

Other Projects

You can make more than just cards. There are options to make photo cubes, frames and mini albums. You can make announcements and invitations. There are also calendars, gift tags, stickers, envelopes, labels, stationary and note cards. You can even make scrapbook pages.

Event Planner

HCS has an event planner built in. It is an onscreen calendar that has most holidays already on it. You can add your friends and families birthdays and anniversaries. I am hoping that after I finish entering all the information in it, it will help me remember who I need to make cards for.

Conclusion

I found this program very easy to use. I was able to find cards for most occasions I could think of. I found it easy to create a card from scratch. I was pleased with how fast the program moved from screen to screen. I look forward to making some of the other projects.

I would recommend purchasing card stock to print the cards on. It gives the cards a more professional, finished look.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Book Review: Take One by Karen Kingsbury

Take One (Above the Line Series #1)
Karen Kingsbury
Zondervan
352 Pages
2009

Take One is the latest book by Karen Kingsbury. It is the first of a four book series called Above the Line.

Most of this story takes place in Bloomington, IN. During the course of the story, Chase and Keith meet the Baxter and Flanigan families that millions have come to love from Karen's other books.

There are two story lines. The first one is about the making of the movie and all the problems they encounter. The second one is about Keith's daughter, Andi, and her roommate Bailey Flanigan.

Keith and Chase are trying to make a movie that will inspire and change people's lives. They are limited by a very tight budget. Things start to go wrong right from the beginning of the shoot. One star has a fit over what is served for breakfast and another star is bitten by a dog. Then the union causes problems for the crew. Every delay is costing them money. Without another investor, they will have to close down the shoot and admit failure.

Andi and Bailey are freshmen at Indiana University. Bailey is dating Tim but has strong feelings for Cody. Andi is going through a crisis of faith. She grew up as a missionary kid in Indonesia. Now that she is on her own, she is unsure if what she was taught is really relevant in today's world. She wants to live a little.

I enjoyed this book on several levels. First, it was a good story. Plot and characters were well written. Second, I enjoyed the familiar setting. The inclusion of the Baxter family made me feel like I was seeing old friends again. Third, I was very moved by an illustration of the power of prayer. When the union is causing trouble, the community comes together to "pray until something happens".

Karen Kingsbury has again written a story that will appeal to many people. I look forward to the next book in the series, Take Two, which releases June 23, 2009.

Classics Book Club: Around the World in 80 Days

This months classic is Around the World in 80 Daysby Jules Verne. I remember reading an Illustrated Classic Edition of this story when I was young. This was my first time reading the full story.

I really enjoyed this story. The idea of just traveling for almost three months is very appealing. Today, traveling is just a means of getting where we are going. We can go anywhere in the world in a very short amount of time. My husband and I would love to someday take a train trip across the country. I think that would be a great way to see the country.

I found that I enjoyed the character of Passepartout the most. He was the one who had most of the adventures. He saw the sights. He experienced the local cultures and food. He enters a forbidden pagoda in India. He helped rescue Aouda. He helps rescue the train from the Indians and then gets captured by them. He was full of energy and curiosity.

I think this book would be very good for boys to read. I am always on the lookout for something interesting for my 10 year old son. He likes to read but it needs to have some adventure in it or he loses interest. I think that he would like this story.

If you would like to read more discussions of Around the World in 80 Days, check out 5 Minutes for Books.

What is on my Nightstand - March

It is time once again for What's On Your Nightstand hosted by 5 Minutes for Books.

I was only able to read 3 books last month:

• The Great Eight by Scott Hamilton (My Review)
• Luke's Story by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins
• The Shack by William P. Young (My Review)

I am currently reading:

• Weekend Makeover by Don Aslett
• Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

I have a lot of books on my nightstand that I hope to get to this month. With spring break coming up, I am not sure how much reading time I will have. So, here goes:

• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
• The Prayer Chest by August Gold and Joel Fotinos
• Beauty by Robin McKinley
• The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley
• Inside the Revolution by Joel C. Rosenberg
• Blog Blazers by Stephane Grenier
• The Huffington Post Complete Guide to Blogging
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Take One by Karen Kingsbury

Now I can go see what other bloggers have on their nightstands and I am sure that my list will grow and grow and grow.

Book Review: The Shack by William P. Young

The Shack
William P. Young
Windblown Media
256 pages
2007

The Shack was recommended to me by many people. I read reviews on book blogs that I follow. My friends and family on Facebook recommended it. Some said it was the best book they have ever read. When I checked it out of the library, the librarian told me to have tissues handy. So I was really looking forward to reading it. Now that I have finished it, I have mixed feelings about it.

First, about the book. From the back of the book:

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.

Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.

In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

This book seemed to me to be two different stories. The first story is about Mack and what happens to his family and how they deal with it. The second story is about what Mack experiences in the shack.

The first story reads like any other story of tragedy. How it effects people and how the people involved deal with it. And on that level, it is a good story.

The second part reads more like a dream. It's style reminds me of The Pilgrim's Progress. When Mack meets God in the shack, he meets God in all three persons. He calls God the Father, "Papa", even though God is personified as a woman. He is taken aback by Jesus' appearance. He is expecting Him to look like we see Him portrayed in the movies. Instead, He looks like an average looking Jewish man. The Holy Spirit is personified as a woman named Sarayu who is hard to focus your eyes on. She is colorful, translucent and rarely still. Papa, Jesus and Sarayu help Mack find his way past the pain to forgiveness and love.

The more I think about this part of the story, the more I don't care for it. God is portrayed as human-like and flawed. He marginalizes institutions like church, seminaries and even marriage. According to this book, all God cares about is relationships. If we love Him, then that is good enough for Him. It suggests that people can come to God on any path.

I feel like I cannot recommend this book. To me, this is not an accurate depiction of how the Bible describes God. I know that many people will disagree with me, but this is how I feel.

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Book Review: The Great Eight by Scott Hamilton

The Great Eight
Scott Hamilton with Ken Baker
Thomas Nelson Publishers
224 pages
2009

I was very excited to receive a copy of The Great Eight to review from Thomas Nelson. I have been a fan of Scott Hamilton's figure skating for a long time. I was intrigued by the subtitle: The Great Eight: How to Be Happy (even when you have every reason to be miserable). He has certainly had reasons to be miserable.

From the back cover:

From Gold Medalist to cancer and brain tumor survivor, Scott Hamilton has experienced the heights of accomplishment to the depths of disease. But through his successes, struggles, and setbacks, Hamilton has never lost his trademark humor and honesty. But more important, he has never lost his faith and optimism. Hoe does he keep smiling?

In The Great Eight, Scott uses stories from his international career and personal life to describe the eight secrets that - through commitment and repetition - have helped him "clear the ice," get back up, and "smile like Kristi Yamaguchi".

Most of Scott's eight secrets are common sense, but very few people try to do all eight of these things. We know that when we fall (or fail), that we need to get up and keep going. Reading about Scott's approach to each of these secrets makes it a little easier to see how to apply them to my own life.

Number four on the list, keeping the ice clear, is a difficult one for me. He says that trying to please others all the time is a recipe for unhappiness. He had to learn how to have open and honest communication about what he felt and needed. Many times in my life I have felt unhappy because I didn't communicate what I needed and was left out.

Another good one is learn a new routine. Don't fight the changes that life brings. Use change as an opportunity to grow.

This book is filled with stories from Scott's life that illustrate the point that he is trying to make. The only thing that bothered me was that the life stories kept going back and forth and some were repeated several times. But then again this is not an autobiography.

It is a good book to remind us of options that we have to live happier lives.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

What is on my Nightstand - February

It is time once again for What's On Your Nightstand hosted by 5 Minutes for Books.

Last month, I read 6 books:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Ninth Witness by Bodie Thoene

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney

The Centurion’s Wife by Davis Bunn & Janette Oke

Every Now & Then by Karen Kingsbury

This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsbury

I hope to read the following books in March:

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (for the Classics Book Club on 5 Minutes for Books).

The Prayer Chest by August Gold & Joel Fotinos

The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell

The Great Eight by Scott Hamilton

Weekend Makeover by Don Aslett