Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Our Homeschool Week in Review

June 1, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I was going through some craft stuff that was given to us (several years ag0) to get rid of what we’re never going to us. Zach came in and saw this little wooden train. He snagged it and went running. I guess before I said he couldn’t have it. lol He painted it, and gave it to his grandfather for his birthday.

And I’m sorry to say that’s the only picture I have to share this week. Apparently, I need to take more pictures. The thing is, we’ve been working hard on book work. How many pictures can I share of my kids sitting with a book? I’ve even got kids dragging their feet. Which would only make a good picture if I posed them dragging their feet. lol

Zach lost his math notebook. So now he has to go back and do lessons that he already did. When one has to do the work over again, one quickly learns to keep track of ones notebook.

Abby is finishing up her 8th grade subjects. She only has math and writing left. This week, I started her on her 9th grade math. It’s for a Schoolhouse Review Crew review, so I’m having her start it now. I’ve never used this curriculum before. It’s looking promising.

Hannah only has one subject left to finish so she can graduate! She needs to finish Kentucky State History. I use Switched on Schoolhouse State History.

Calen has two subjects left to finish so he can graduate! He needs to finish World Literature (Abeka) and Geometry (Khan Academy). I estimate he will be done in another month.

I’ve been talking to Calen and Hannah about what they want to do If they are graduating within a few weeks of each other, I asked them if they wanted to have a double graduation and party, or if they want separate graduations and parties. They can’t decide! lol So, I guess we’ll just have to wait until the first one finishes their work to see what they want to do.

There is no other exciting news here. Just book work and more book work! I will try to do better about taking pictures this week. lol

Stop by and check out my latest reviews for the The Schoolhouse Review Crew:
Home School in the Woods History Lap Pak

Science Naturally One Minute Science Mysteries

Paperless Home Organization eBook

To see more homeschooling posts, visit Weekly Wrap Up.

Paperless Home Organization eBook Review

May 30, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I received the Paperless Home Organization ebook from Simplified Pantry to review. Paperless Home Organization is a how to guide that walks you through creating a digital homemaking binder. Once you have your homemaking binder in place, you can go paperless! I don’t know about you, but after 31 years of marriage, 6 kids, and 22 years of homeschooling (and still counting!), I’m ready to get rid of some paper!

Paperless Home Organization eBook Review

The author, Mystie Winckler, tells you which programs she uses and takes you step by step through signing up, setting up, and filling up your binder. She uses Google Mail, Google Calendar, Evernote and Remember the Milk to organize everything. I was already using Google Mail and Calendar, but she had several tips that I hadn’t heard of before that enable me to make better use of them. The bulk of the book is about setting up and using Evernote and Remember the Milk.

Remember the Milk is where you keep your current to do lists. These can be sorted out, and assigned due dates, or marked not due so it is always on your list. I love that I can have my list on my Gmail page, or on my calendar, over on the right had side, so I can see it no matter what I’m doing. As we all know, a to do list that is seen is more likely to get done. I also have Remember the Milk on my Kindle, so can carry my to do list with me where ever I go. Remember the Milk can also be accessed online, or on your phone. I love that I can set it up to work for me. Since I hadn’t used Remember the Milk before, the authors tutorial was a great help.

Your digital home binder will mostly be stored on Evernote. I had never heard of Evernote before, so I took full advantage of the authors how to’s in this ebook to help me. She not only tells you what to do, she shows you with many screenshots. Seeing what everything should look like, made it so much easier for to to set it up. You can tell that the author has been using this program, and knows what she’s talking about. It would have taken me a very long time to figure out some of the steps that she included in the ebook. Instead of having to figure it all out by myself, I quickly and easily followed her directions and had my binder up and running.

One of the things that the author mentioned was that you could get an Evernote Web Clipper extension for Chrome. Now when I’m online, and I see something I want to save, I can save it right to my notebook. All those great tips and recipes that come across my Facebook feed can be clipped and put into the correct notebook while I’m on Facebook. I don’t have to go open the Evernote program to copy and paste. I was also able to add the Evernote App to my Kindle. So I have access to my digital binder whenever I need it.

Here is a screenshot from my Evernote. You can see on the left, I’m working on my notebooks. I have my Recipe Notebook open, so the middle column shows those notes. And on the right, was the last note I had opened, a recipe I’m planning on making shortly.

You can read a sample of Paperless Home Organization.

Since I have many, many years to catch up on, this is going to take awhile. But I’m motivated, and this system is easy. Thanks to Paperless Home Organization I think I can go paperless!

I also received Simplified Dinners and Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free ebooks.

I read through the Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free ebook. If your just starting out cooking gluten free or dairy free, you’ll find lots of great recipes to get you started. I was a little disappointed that there wasn’t more recipes for baked goods. Overall, though, this is a great recipe ebook. I found a few recipes I want to try.

The Paperless Home Organization ebook sells for $3.99. A must at that price!

The Simplified Dinners and Simplified Dinners Gluten Free/Dairy Free sell for $12.99 each.

Here is a TOS Review Crew exclusive discount: when you enter TOS2013 at checkout, you will receive 30% off! That discount will work on any or all three of the eBooks through June 3rd.

The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer – Review

May 29, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

I recently received the new book The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer to review. The Promise Box is the second book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series. I reviewed book one, The Memory Jar, last year. It is not necessary to have read book one to enjoy book two, The Promise Box. The main characters in each book are different, while secondary characters, such as store and restaurant owners, are the same.

The Promise Box is set in West Kootenai, Montana, where young Amish men from other states come to live for 6 months so they can receive resident status for the hunting season in the fall. Lydia Wyse grew up in this small Amish community, but left her parents and her Amish faith to become an editor in Seattle. She is now returning to her parents home after the death of her mother. Lydia ends up staying with her father to help him. Her father gives her her mother’s Promise Box, that Lydia never knew her mother kept.

The promise box contains Bible verses, and letters that her mother wrote. As Lydia reads through all the letters in the promise box, she discovers a side of her mother that she never knew. Lydia also learns to accept God’s promises for herself. And to follow God’s plan for her life.

The Promise Box is a great read. The perfect book for a restful summer day.

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her lastest novel, The Promise Box (Zondervan), by hosting an Amish Baking Box giveaway and connecting with readers during her June 12th Book Chat Party!

One “promising” winner will receive:

Apron, hot mitts, and kitchen towels
Amish baking items (rolling pin, pie plate, etc…)
Sherry Gore’s Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
The Memory Jar and The Promise Box by Tricia Goyer

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 11th. Winner will be announced at the “The Promise Box” Facebook Author Chat Party on June 12th. Connect with Tricia for an evening of Amish fun – book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Tricia will also share an exclusive look at the next book book in the Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Promise Box and join Tricia on the evening of June 12th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven’t read the book, don’t let that stop you from coming!)

Don’t miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 12th!

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a copy of this book for review purposes. I received no other compensation. I was not required to write a positive review. My opinions are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

SHOWgrins by Betty Collier Book Review

May 28, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old…or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book!

You never know when I might play a wild card on you!

Today’s Wild Card author is:

Betty Collier

and the book:

SHOWgrins

XLIBRIS (February 12, 2013)

***Special thanks to Betty Collier for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Betty Collier is a nurse by profession, author by passion, and storyteller by the grace of God. After reading the headlines that tennis pro Venus Williams suffers from Sjogren’s syndrome, Betty discovered she had many of the same symptoms. This began her quest to share the journeys of five other remarkable women battling this incurable illness. The third in her Living Inside The Testimony Book Series, Betty hopes others will discover that they too live inside testimonies meant to be shared. Betty lives in Bartlett, Tennessee, with her husband, the absolute love of her life, and their two sons. Betty’s passion for increasing awareness of this silent disease takes her beyond the inspirational stories she has written about to the streets of Nashville, TN where she will run with Team Sjogren’s on April 27, 2013 in the Country Music Half Marathon to help increase awareness and raise funds for Sjogren’s research.

Visit the author’s website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Award-winning author Betty Collier has intricately woven a beautiful, edifying and inspirational book that informs readers of Sjogren’s syndrome – its signs and symptoms, diagnosis, medication and treatment, complications, and other related information. Readers will be captivated by the inspiring and uplifting story of five remarkable women who embarked on the same journey through Sjögren’s syndrome. This book takes Venus Williams’ fight against the same autoimmune disease many women are suffering right now as a concrete instance. Along with her story, Collier brings into the limelight the cases of Cathy Taylor, Estrella Bibbey, Judy Kang, Lynn Petruzzi, and Paula Beth Sosin, the five women who opened their hearts and shared their Sjogren’s stories with the world for everyone to understand more about this incurable disease. Through the heartwarming stories of these five women and the intimate details of their journeys, millions will be inspired, encouraged, and motivated to face the crossroads in their lives.

Product Details:

List Price: $15.99

Paperback: 102 pages

Publisher: XLIBRIS (February 12, 2013)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1479780154

ISBN-13: 978-1479780150

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

Fame, Fortune, and Fatigue
Who wouldn’t want to be like Venus Williams, one of the most admired professional athletes in the world? Continue reading for about three or four minutes, and I’ll answer that question. But first, let’s take a quick glance at the trophy room of this phenomenal tennis superstar. She has won an astonishing forty-three singles titles, including two U.S. Open Singles and five Wimbledon Singles. Along with her sister Serena Williams, she has also won an amazing nineteen doubles titles which include two at the U.S. Open Doubles, two at the French Open Doubles, five at the Wimbledon Doubles, and four at the Australian Open Doubles. And lastly, she has been an Olympic gold medal tennis champion for an unprecedented four times.

In addition to her tennis accolades, Williams is CEO of her interior design firm, “V Starr Interiors” and realized a dream come true by launching her fashion line “EleVen.” She has been recognized by Forbes on numerous occasions such as Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women in the World, Forbes Most Powerful Black Women In The U.S., and Forbes the Celebrity 100. If that’s not enough, she’s also part-owner of the Miami Dolphins along with her sister Serena, making them the first African-American females with ownership in an NFL franchise.

So why am I talking about Williams in my book? After all, she wrote a New York Times Bestseller, a book entitled Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession. What does her book have to do with my book? Absolutely nothing. However, this book does have a lot to do with Williams. You see, Williams had to pull out of the U.S. Open in 2011 due to yet another undertaking, undoubtedly her toughest challenge yet, one that up to four million Americans are also battling to live with.

Williams is fighting Sjögren’s syndrome, the second most common autoimmune disease. Prior to her announcement, Sjögren’s syndrome was probably the most common, unknown disease in the world even though it was first identified in 1933 by Dr. Henrik Sjögren.

Classic symptoms are dry eyes and dry mouth, but Sjögren’s may also cause dysfunction of organs such as the kidneys, gastrointestinal system, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and the central nervous system. Williams, along with millions of others, experience extreme fatigue and joint pain, which is likely why she had to withdraw from the tournament.

I will ask the question again. Who wouldn’t want to be like Venus Williams? Up to four million Americans can answer in the affirmative, with approximately 3,600,000 of them being females. I think I am one of them. I have not been formally diagnosed yet, but I am seeing the specialist my primary care physician referred me to. Before I finish writing this book, I will know for sure if I have it, but that’s another chapter toward the end of the book.

For now, let’s see what happened after Williams pulled out of the U.S. Open. I read a story on the internet a couple of days after she withdrew, Venus Williams Battles Sjögren’s Syndrome. Needless to say, my curiosity got the best of me. I wondered how she could have such a dreadful disease which forced her to leave the tournament after only one match. Would she ever be able to return to this sport that she loved and once ruled?

Much to my surprise, the article only had two paragraphs about Williams. She was quoted as saying, “I am thankful I finally have a diagnosis and am now focused on getting better and returning to the court soon.” The rest of the article was about the disease, not Williams. It was only one day after reading Williams had to withdraw that I began writing the first chapter of this book.

As I was trying to comprehend what had happened to me over those twenty-four hours, I had already self-diagnosed myself as being affirmed with this same condition, and I was now totally obsessed with writing a book about it to help others. I just wish Dr. Smith had identified the illness instead of Dr. Sjögren. Hence the book title, SHOWgrins, because I read that Sjögren’s is pronounced “SHOW-grins.” In my haste to start writing this book the very next day, I entitled it SHOWgrins so I wouldn’t forget how to pronounce my new diagnosis and new book title.
So how does this story fit into my book series of uplifting, real-life, inspirational testimonies? Let’s see what Venus Williams had to say about all of this.

SHOWgrins by Betty Collier Book Review

I reviewed and loved Betty Collier’s first two books, Living Inside the Testimony and An Angel in My Room, so I was excited when I found out about her third book.

SHOWgrins tells the stories of five women who went from not being to find out what was wrong with them to finding out they had an incurable autoimmune disease, Sjögren’s syndrome. Sjögren’s is pronounced SHOW-grins. And now you know where the name of the book came from.

SHOWgrins is an excellent book that follows these women from their worst to reclaiming and living their lives. I highly recommend SHOWgrins, as well as the authors previous books.

Making a Home – Homemaking Linky

May 28, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

The featured post from last week’s Making a Home – Homemaking Linky is:

Honeysuckle Jelly from Taylor-Made Ranch. I remember well standing around the Honeysuckle bush with my siblings and cousins sucking the honey out of the blossoms. I’ve shown my kids how to do it, too. Have to keep those family traditions alive. lol I have yet to make Honeysuckle Jelly, though. This recipe makes it look really easy.

If you missed the Honeysuckle recipe last week, stop by now to see it.

Taylor-Made Ranch Blog's photo

Making a Home – Homemaking Linky

Now it’s your turn! Share your posts about homemaking ideas, recipes, crafts, decorating, cleaning tips, basically anything that has to do with caring for a home and family.

No giveaways, please. Giveaway links will be deleted. You can link your giveaways on my Thursday’s Giveaways linky. Thanks!

Please provide a link back to me. A text link is fine. Of course, family friendly posts only.

In the Kitchen with Linda

May 27, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

After last weeks week long breakfast for the freezer session, I didn’t do anything major in the kitchen this week. I did make cupcakes on Friday for my father in laws birthday.

We’re having a family cookout today, Memorial Day. If you’re having a cookout, too, let me help you get ready. See my post How to Prepare for a Large Cookout.

Now…. to answer the question that I get asked about a hundred times a day……….

What’s For Dinner?

Dinner Menu:

Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Fish and Chips

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Sandwiches- ham and egg salad on homemade bread

Monday – chicken – Cook out! Hot dogs, Linguica, potato salad, homemade baked beans, chips, and, of course, S’mores!

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – Crockpot Chicken Parmesan, broccoli

Wednesday – beef – Homemade meatball subs, carrot sticks

Thursday – super simple – Leftovers!

Friday – Sabbath Dinner – Baked chicken, rice, corn, peas

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

Saturday on the Farm – Garden Tour

May 27, 2013 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

This week, two kids learned how to use the weed eater. Hopefully, that will help keep everything looking neat this year. Zach will be 13 in July, and I thought it would be good for him to learn. He did really good, and was really careful.

Abby, 14, volunteered to learn to weed eat. Volunteers are never turned down here. lol She, also, did really well and was very careful.

Now onto the garden tour.

This bed is in the back yard. The Wilds Roses on the right are trying to take over the Iris’s. After they bloom, I will trim them back. I just can’t bring myself to trim them before they bloom. I love Wild Roses too much to take the chance that I might not get any after trimming.

They Iris’s love it in the shade back by the creek.

Also in the back yard, and all over the area, the Tulip Poplars are blooming. It’s very pretty to see the full tree covered in these blooms.

The Spinach and Lettuce bed by the creek is doing well. The Romaine Lettuce is on the right, and the spinach is on the left. I’ve been very patient this year, and haven’t harvested any leaves. I’m usually out there picking leaves to eat as soon as they are big enough. lol