Praise for The Whitney Chronicles
âWhitney Blakeâ¦becomes not just a fictional character, but a âgirlfriendââso much so that readers might have to remember they canât meet her for a cup of coffee.â
âChristian Retailing
âBaer has created fascinating characters with real-life problems and triumphs that show readers the details of living out faith daily.â
âRomantic Times BOOKclub
âWith sixty-five books to her credit, Baer knows how to spin a good taleâ¦. The results are genuinely enjoyable.â
âPublishers Weekly
âWhen Whitney Blake grabbed a Snickers bar, I knew she was my kind of girl. In The Whitney Chronicles, Judy Baer nailed the chick-lit voice and created a delightful, quirky cast of characters. Sheâs now on my very short list of great chick-lit writers.â
âColleen Coble, bestselling author of the Rock Harbor mystery series
âThe Whitney Chronicles is chick-lit fun for the Christian setâand anyone else looking for a breezy, heartfelt read!â
âKristin Billerbeck, bestselling author of What a Girl Wants
September 14
spinâ¢ster: 1. A woman who spins. Alfred the Great in his will, called the female part of his family the spindle side. In Saxon times, it was believed that a woman wasnât ready to marry until sheâd spun her own table, bed and body linens. Any maiden or any unmarried woman was considered a spinner, or spinster. 2. An unmarried woman; an old maid.
My name is Whitney Blake and not only is today my birthday, but itâs also the day I outgrew my fat pants. My friend Kim Easton told me the most depressing day of her life was the day she realized sheâd outgrown her maternity clothes and she wasnât even pregnant. I feel her pain.
Kim told meâand she had it from a good source, Oprah, maybeâthat keeping a journal is an important part of knowing oneself. She says it will be especially good for me because, at thirty, Iâm unmarried and currently stuck somewhere between death and puberty. It is also proof that Iâm actually learning and maturing over the course of my life. Iâm starting my journal today because I need proof that by this time next year Iâll have learned or accomplished something. My goal is not to be a useless leech on the crust of the earth.
Turning the big three-oh was more of a shock than Iâd expected. Last year I was in total denial about the inevitability of this birthday. I didnât reach a single goal Iâd set for myself. âLose ten poundsâ turned into âlose fifteen.â âExercise dailyâ became âexercise monthly.â And âmeet a nice Christian manâ should have been âmeet a breathing one.â
Kim gave me this journal as a birthday gift. She had the words The Whitney Chronicles printed in gold on the cover. She hopes that will intimidate me into using it.
Well, here goes.
Goals for my thirtieth year:
Today: Begin a journal in which I will give a daily account of my life and how I am improving mentally, spiritually and physically and progressing toward my year-end goals. (Thatâs pompous-sounding⦠Oh, well.)
This week: Give check to childrenâs ministry so as not to be tempted to spend it like I did last month. (Noteâgive double this month.) Wax my legs. Bleach my teeth. Floss daily. Return black blouse (unneeded, as I already have three). Put myself on a budget. Follow it for a change. Be the perfect employee no matter what my boss, Harry, throws at me. Continue practice of adding words to my vocabulary, e.g., âspinster.â
My mother is sure that if I donât get in gear soon, Iâm in dire jeopardy of becoming one. Although Iâm not worried about spending the rest of my life making tablecloths and bedding, I donât want to end up alone in a high-rise condominium brushing a crotchety Pekinese and wondering if, when my Prince Charming does come, Iâll be able to find my bifocals and upper plate.
This month: Lose sixâ¦no, fourâ¦no, twoâ¦no, fourâ¦okay, five pounds sensibly. Then, in three months, I can wear all the clothes in my closet again. Exercise. Do not let my mother drive me crazy (a particularly difficult project). Get organized. Start by cleaning closets. Quit falling for every organizing gadget on the market. No more hanging shoe racks, drawer dividers or file cabinets. And, under no circumstances, another set of plastic drawers on wheels. Have friends over for dinner. Read my Bible more. Pray more, obsess less.