Book Review - Unstuff (Hayley & Michael DiMarco)

~ Posted on Tuesday, January 25, 2011 at 8:50 AM ~

I'm so glad I had the opportunity to review this wonderful book called: "UNSTUFF". It took me some time to read it came at some busy  time of my life - rushing to bake Christmas cookies, New Year and so on... So without further ado,

Author: Hayley & Michael DiMarco
Publisher:  Tyndale House Publishers
ISBN: 9781414334783
Paperback: 224 pages
Dimension: 8.25 X 5.50 (inches)

Product description from the publisher's website:

"God . . . and stuff. Everything in the universe falls into one of these two categories. Which is more important to you? (It’s not a trick question.) In Unstuff: Making Room in Your Life for What Really Matters, popular authors Hayley and Michael DiMarco take a close look at what’s in your wallet, your heart, your house, and your mind to reveal the pleasures and perils of stuff—and the joy, peace, and freedom that comes from learning to live with less.

In this real-life look at “how it’s done,” the DiMarcos take an uncomfortably close look at the cost of their love affair with stuff. They start by Unstuffing their house—getting rid of anything they don’t need by giving away, selling, or throwing out items that only add to their love for more. Then, kicking it up a notch, this family of three travels across the country with nothing more than they can fit in a motor home . . . and discovers that the really important stuff goes with them."

I love this book! At first I was a bit skeptical at the title, I mean, "Unstuff"? What do you mean unstuff? What is there to unstuff? But oh boy, am I glad I requested this book! As I read further, I realised the message the authors are trying to point out. Now back to the book, it is categorised into 6 sections (Wallet Stuff, Mind Stuff, Body Stuff, Love Stuff, Worship Stuff and Future Stuff)

In the 1st section, (Wallet Stuff), I love the statement of "When we take on debt, we're saying we want more than what God has allotted for us and we go against his command to "owe nothing to anyone" (Romans 13:8)". Which is why I do my very best to clear off any debts I might have, purchase made using credit cards (to collect and redeem points) will be immediately settled the moment the transaction was reflected in my bank account.

I'm also deeply inspired by the statement "no woman does her faith or her man a service by wanting more stuff. And no man does his God or his wife a service by believing that more stuff is what God wants him to provide". I also like the parable of the Delivery Driver and find it inspiring as well!

What I don't like about this book?

I don't like that some of the important points they are trying to emphasise are not standardised. You can see the points bolded, italized, capitalised or size enlarged and it is kind of a clutter and hard to read. I do have a bit difficulty in trying to understand whether the points are important or worth noting down.

What I think would be better is to just use the same font size and type and just put a different color, red perhaps to emphasise that the statement is worth pondering on or something. Or if colored fonts is not a good idea, then just plain putting the sentence in bold would do, but not mixing it up with other styles! Other than that, this book is just perfect! And I like how the authors included snippets of their diary of their life on the road and some inspiring statements here and there which we can use and share on Twitter as well.

If you think you need to unstuff your life, do consider getting a copy of this book. You will not regret it!

You can purchase this book from Tyndale House Publishers, ChristianBooks.com and many more.

I received no monetary compensation for this review, I was provided with a copy of the book  in order to facilitate my review. All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Please do your own research when purchasing products, as your opinions may differ from mine.

And if you'd like to read my previous book reviews, you can do so by reading this post of mine called "My Book Reviews"

Ben and his Rescue Boat!

~ Posted on Friday, January 21, 2011 at 2:53 PM ~

We bought this battery operated rescue boat toy for Ben during Christmas last year but only opened it up few days ago. Ben was so excited with his new toy (cos all his current toys are either books, cars or stickers stuff). I told him we will play the boat in his mini pool outside our balcony but he needs to fill up his pool with water first in order to put the boat in.

So he immediately went to switch on the water pipe while holding on tight to his boat.

Ben waited patiently, examining the parts of the boat while the water fills up in his mini pool...

Ben putting the boat into action!

In the beginning, he thought it's like his car toys, which he can just press down, pull it backwards and let it go...

Whoopsss... mummy have to teach him to just let go off his hand and watch the boat cruise by itself...

All in all, he enjoyed his new toy very much. We've been playing it almost everyday.

Good investment!

DIY Chinese New Year Lantern Style #2

~ Posted on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 9:31 AM ~

I had previously posted a tutorial on making Chinese New Year (aka CNY) lantern as CNY is coming in a few weeks time! So, here goes my  second DIY Chinese New Year Lantern:

What you need is: 9 pieces of red packets (or what we Chinese called 'Ang Pows'), stapler, scissors, cellophane tape and a piece of string.

DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
Take 1 red packet, ensure the front is facing you,
fold in the 2 top corners until they meet.
Repeat with the bottom & for the other 7.
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
Take 4 of the red packets, arrange them
with the folded edges & staple the corners together.
Repeat with the other 4 red packets.
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
WIth both the top & bottom of the lantern, 
line up the folded edges & staple them together.
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
Don't worry if your lantern looks weird,
they will eventually close up together.
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
I actually use the cellophane tape to close
the gaps in between the edges of the red packets.
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
A close up shot of how you should
stapled the folded edges...
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
I added an extra touch to the lantern. Take the 9th red
packet & cut vertically leaving some space at the top.
DIY Chinese New Year Lantern
Roll up the red packet & tape it with a string which will be
used to hang the lantern as well.

The results? TADAAAAAAA!!!

DIY Chinese New Year Lantern DIY Chinese New Year Lantern

Hope you enjoy my simple tutorial!