Priced to Move- Book 15

 Priced to Move by Ginny Aiken

In the midst of the fairly deep thought books I'm reading I decided I needed a light hearted break.  I literally picked this book on my Kindle based on the fact that I had downloaded it back in August of 2012 and had not yet gotten to it. 

It was a pleasant surprise. The book was filled with lively characters, and mystery.  The main character Andrea is someone that you can identify easily with. She wants something different for her life and she isn't sure how to get it.  In the process of looking for it she gets, in a sense, taken over by her Aunt Weeby and her Aunt's best friend Mona.  She wants to do right by them, but sometimes they make it so difficult.  I was not at all expecting the adventure that awaited when I started the book.  Andie, as she likes to be called, is gemologist who knows her stuff. After a fast pace job in New York leaves her with an ulcer she moves back home to Louisville. What she doesn't bargin for is an even faster pace life in her home town.  This time filled with murder, and clues that she can't help but try and put together.  Will she find the answers in time, or will she be the next victim? 

I highly recommend it for it's fast pace, and colorful characters. 

I'd give this book 5 stars. 

365 Ways to Organize Everything by Emilie Barnes and Sheri Torelli

 365 Ways to Organize Everything by Emilie Barnes and Sheri Torelli

I became a fan of Emilie Barnes about 10 years ago when I read her book The 15 Minute Organizer. In that book Emilie gave great tips on how to get things organized throughout your house and life by spending 15 minutes at a time doing it.  I'd say this philosophy is one that made me realize I can accomplish things each day, as well as one I've used not only for household jobs but also for getting scrapbooks put together. It's a philosophy that I've taught as a Creative Memories consultant and one that I also shared with many Moms groups when speaking on Organization.  Knowing how much I liked her first book, I was sure this book would also be a favorite so I did purchase this one.  I believe it was a discounted price, although I can't remember what that price was.

This book, was a bit deceiving. It did have great tips.  I've highlighted many passages, some of which I'll share in a moment.  What it didn't have was a calendar with an idea for each day. Which reading the cover made me think it would.  I suppose that sounds silly, to go off of the cover and expect a tip for each day, but other books I've read with a similar title were set up that way, so I figured this would be as well.  That being said, the book was worth the read, and did have some good suggestions.

Some of them are:

"Set aside a specific time each day you can devote to planning of the household"

"When you purchase something new, something old has to go"

"View each new season as a chance to do some pruning in your closet"

"After wiping clean your wastebaskets, give the inside bottom a quick coat of floor wax. This will prevent trash from sticking to the bottom"

"When you finish a box of Kleenex, fill it with your plastic grocery bags from the market. When full, place it in your trunk"

These are just a few of the many things I did highlight.  Emilie and Sheri have a great writing style. The book was well organized, and will be useful to refer back to for the other tips that I highlighted. I would definitely recommend this book to someone just trying to figure out ways to get and stay organized.

I give this book 4.5 stars.  Might not have been set up how I thought it would be, but just the same was a great read!

How to Raise the Perfect Dog- Book 13

How to Raise the Perfect Dog by Steven Yeo

I thought this book might be interesting. We have a great dog, who is fairly well behaved. We still have to work on a few things, and I'm sure ubber trained dog owners would think she lacks many skills, but for our family she's fine. Basically the reasons I downloaded this book was for some quick tips or other ideas to use with her, and also because it was free. So glad that it was free was part of the picture. 

Yes, this book had some tips, and some ideas I hadn't thought about. It is certainly more geared for the new puppy owner than for owners of an almost 3 year old dog.  The thing that really irked me about it was the number of times it told me how Eukenuba dog food would make housebreaking easier and my dog smarter.  I'm sure the food is great, but if I wanted a Eukenuba commercial or information I would have gone to their website.

I give this book 2 stars. Some good ideas, but a FAIL when it comes to making me want to read anything else by the author for fear of what other product they are going to try and get me to buy into.

Slow Cooker Superfood Recipes - Book 12

It's one of my themes for the year I suppose, finding new tasty recipes that take less time and that my family will eat.  This book  Slow Cooker Superfood Recipes by Susan Daniels, has a few recipes that seem to fit those requirements.  Some of the ones I plan on trying include, Lip Smacking Pot Roast, Delectable Beef Stew, Mind-blowing Pepper Steak, and Finger Lickin' Beef BBQ Ribs.  With each recipe it also explains how the foods in the recipe are suppose to be good for you.

Reading this cookbook helped me think of why we eat certain foods, beyond that they appeal to the taste buds.  I'd give this book 4 stars, for presenting some tasty ideas with the philosophy behind the foods included.

Cookbook Time- Books 6-11

While some wouldn't count this as reading, it did take time to look through and determine if the recipe would be worth trying with my family, so I'm counting them as books read this year!

Book 6  Crockpot Cooking 50 No Fuss Crock Pot Recipes by M. Smith and R. King

This book had 50 recipes designed to make Crock Pot cooking more exciting. The ones I marked for my family included Cheddar Cheese Cauliflower, Cheesy Chicken, Crock Pot Corned Beef-which I plan to try in March, Crock Pot Pizza- which we tried and liked, Honey Cooked Vegetables, Mozzarella Onion Soup, Simple Meatball Dinner, and Sweet Barbecued Chicken.

I plan out my meals in advance, so I'm planning on adding these to the menu and seeing if they are ones my family will request again.  Each family has different likes when it comes to food, so while I only found 8 that I was pretty sure my family would enjoy, someone else would most likely find more. 

I'd give this book 4 stars- might turn into 5 if the recipes are a success!


Book 7

Breakfast in a Flash by Amy Clark

We are bad about breakfast.  I'm not a breakfast person, I need time to wake up and usually a cup of coffee is all I need for that first hour or so that I'm awake.  My kids are the same in many ways.  This makes it difficult to get us up, and fed and out the door for school.  I found several recipes in this book that seem like they'd be worth trying for quick, easy and somewhat portable breakfasts.

The ones I'm planning on giving a shot are: Omelet in a mug, Breakfast sandwich, Fruit and Granola Bars, Chewy Crispy Granola Bars, and Eggs on Biscuits.

The recipes did also help me focus on some other foods that would be quick and easy to take with us for breakfast. 

I'd give the book 4 stars.

Book 8 30 Nutritious Snacks by Nicole D Richards

Snacks are always an issue to keep healthy. There are so many foods out there that are somewhat easier to get to and therefore we grab and go without thinking.

The recipes I marked in this book are Bacon Stuffed Potato Skins, Parmesan and Pepper Zucchini Chips, Cheddar Cheese Biscuits, Parmesan Pita Bread, Guacamole, Classic Hummus, Bitesize Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Tartlets, Pumpkin Seeds and Taco Style Salad.

I'm planning on getting some of these cooked up during spring break to see if we like them, and then go from there as far as adding them into the menu for sides for lunches or snacks to have on hand.

I'd give this book 4 stars

Book 9 Eat Healthy All Through the Year by Sidney McManter

With all the books and pins on Pinterest showing Paleo recipes I though I'd give this book a try.  While I did find 4 recipes that I might consider I also learned more about the Paleo diet.  I agree that we eat to many processed fatty foods, but I'm not sure that I'm ready to go to only eating foods the ancient peoples would have eaten.  It's an interesting concept, just not where I'm at right now.

I'd give this book 4 stars- not for me, but not bad for someone into the Paleo diet concept.



Book 10 Slow Cooker 101 by Perrin Davis

This book had lots of Crock Pot tips and some great recipes that I plan on trying.  From Ultimate Mac and Cheese to Sweet Potato Pudding. I use my slow cooker a lot so having new ideas is always great.

I'd give this book 4 stars

Book 11 31 Deliciously Easy School Breakfasts Recipes and Ideas For One Month of Making the Bus On Time by Tracey Bybee

As I mentioned earlier in this post, we're not really breakfast people.  This book had 9 different recipes and ideas that I think we might try. 

Again, it's about looking for what your family already likes when finding a recipe that is new and sure to be a hit.  Some of the ideas we will be trying from this book are Potato Bacon Frittata Muffins, Biscuit Egg Sandwiches and Quick French Toast.

I give this book 4 stars.

Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free- Book 5

Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I started this book once in 2013, and then after a few chapters set it aside and got busy reading other books.  As much as I have always enjoyed physical books, reading on my Kindle seems to be so much easier now, that it took a focused effort to work on reading this book as I borrowed it from a friend.

We are lied to by Satan. This should really shouldn't be shocking. He's been lying to us since the beginning of time, trying to get us to see half truths and bold face lies as truth.  He knows the scriptures, and wants to use bits and pieces of them to get us to doubt what we know to be true.  His goal is to render us useless, which unfortunately works on many occasions.

The topics covered are: lies we believe about God, about ourselves, about sin, about marriage, about children and about circumstances. In most of these areas I found myself agreeing that at least on occasion I have believed these lies.  The problem is, when I have I find myself struggling with some many areas.  Speaking and knowing the truth of the Word of God can make a difference.  We need to have a firm foundation and take all information we learn or hear back to the source to see if it is real or not.

I'm glad I read this book, and would suggest it to others who want to actively seek out God and His truth and His Word. 

I'd give this book 5 stars