Linda @ Linda’s Lunacy

Gluten Free Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

January 12, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

This recipe makes a crisp cookie. It even holds it crispness during storage. I have also successfully frozen these cookies.

Gluten Free Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour mix (I use King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Multipurpose Flour)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups quick cooking oats – gluten free
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Mix in egg and vanilla. I separate bowl, stir together flour, cocoa, oats, baking soda, and salt. Gradually stir dry mixture into butte mixture, mixing well. Batter will be stiff.

Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in 350* oven for 11-12 minutes, until set. Cookies will be slightly moist, don’t overbake. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes. Remove to wire rack to cool completely.

I get 17 large cookies from this recipe.

*Note – Some people don’t have trouble eating regular oatmeal. If you do, make sure you use Gluten Free Oatmeal.

Maestro Classics Swan Lake CD Review

January 11, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I received a Swan Lake CD from Maestro Classics.

There are currently 9 cd’s in the Maestro Classics series. With one also available in Spanish. They are $16.98 per cd and $9.98 per mp3 download.

From the Maestro website:

The Story of Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky’s greatest ballet score, is the tale of a prince who falls in love with a beautiful princess. The princess, however, has been turned into a swan by an evil magician, and only the prince’s love can break the spell. This narrated version of the classic tale for children is sure to delight all who love ballet and enchanting storytelling.

A 24-page activity book included with the CD contains a biography of Tchaikovsky, information on acoustic and electric guitars, sheet music and words for a sing-along song, explanation of major and minor keys, puzzles and more. MP3 download from Maestro Classics website includes a PDF of the activity booklet.

The Story of Swan Lake cd I received has the music from the ballet, over 30 minutes worth, as well as added features. The story of Tchaikovsky’s life is included so you can do a study on the composer.

There is a small 24 activity book included with the CD, which includes word games and activities, information about the composer, and sheet music for a short song. They only thing I didn’t like about the Cd was that the activity book is meant for one user. Maestro Classics has a great Homeschool Music Curriculum section with information for using the Classics in all subject areas. I think it would be much more conducive to using the activities in a homeschool setting if they were available as a download on their website. If you buy the mp3 version, the activity book is available in pdf form. So this is only a concern if you buy the cd version.

It is, however, not enough to keep me from recommending Maestro Classics. I do recommend Maestro Classics for the homeschool setting. When my oldest two were elementary and middle school aged, we lived close to a big city and got to take field trips to the symphony and the ballet. Now we, along with a good portion of other homeschoolers, live hours and hours from the city. Now with Maestro Classics, we can still expose our children to great classical music.

These CD’s are geared toward children from age 6-12. But honestly, I think they can be enjoyed by all ages. We all listened to the cd together. That includes 5th grade, 7th grade, 11th grade and me! It was nice to just have the music playing while we sat and listened to it. This would be great for learning on the go, also. Car school!

There is also a song on the cd titled Speed Metal Swan. A world famous guitarist’s version of the Swan Lake theme song. The heavy metal version was a little too much for my tastes, lol, but kids love it.

You can find Maestro Classics on Facebook and Maestro Classics on Twitter. At the time of this review, Maestro Classics is giving away an 8 CD set on the Maestro Classics Facebook page. Be sure to stop by and enter!

See what other Homeschool Crew members are saying about Maestro Classics.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. 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.”

The Keeper by Suzanne Woods Fisher – Review

January 9, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It’s a “Honey of a Giveaway” from Suzanne Woods Fisher!

Suzanne is hosting a “honey of a giveaway”during the blog tour for The Keeper! During 1/3-1/17 you can enter to win an iPad2 from Suzanne and connect with her on January 17th at The Keeper Facebook Party!

During the giveaway one Grand Prize winner will receive a Prize Pack valued at $600:

A brand new 16 KB iPad 2 with Wi-Fi
A $25 gift certificate to iTunes
A copy of The Keeper

But wait there’s more! Just click one of the icons below to enter, then on 1/17 join Suzanne for The Keeper Facebook Party! During the party Suzanne will announce the winner of the “Honey” of an iPad Giveaway and host a fun book chat and give away some fun “honey” inspired prizes – It’ll be ‘sweet”!

RSVP early and tell your friends!

Don’t miss a moment of the fun. RSVP today and tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 17th!

About the book:

Julia Lapp has planned on marrying Paul Fisher since she was a girl. Now twenty-one, she looks forward to their wedding with giddy anticipation. When Paul tells her he wants to postpone the wedding–again–she knows who is to blame. Perpetual bachelor and spreader of cold feet, Roman Troyer, the Bee Man.

Roamin’ Roman travels through the Amish communities of Ohio and Pennsylvania with his hives full of bees, renting them out to farmers in need of pollinators. He relishes his nomadic life, which keeps him from thinking about all he has lost. He especially enjoys bringing his bees to Stoney Ridge each year. But with Julia on a mission to punish him for inspiring Paul’s cold feet, the Lapp farm is looking decidedly less pleasant.

Can Julia secure the future she’s always dreamed of? Or does God have something else in mind?

About Suzanne:

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, W.D. Benedict, who was raised Plain. She has many, many Plain relatives living in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and travels back to Pennsylvania, as well as to Ohio, a couple of times each year for research.

Suzanne has a great admiration for the Plain people and believes they provide wonderful examples to theworld. In both her fiction and non-fiction books, she has an underlying theme: You don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate many of their principles–simplicity, living with less, appreciating nature, forgiving others more readily– into your life.

When Suzanne isn’t writing or bragging to her friends about her first new grandbaby (!), she is raising puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To Suzanne’s way of thinking, you just can’t take life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone’s underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found on-line at:www.suzannewoodsfisher.com. The Keeper is available online. (not my affiliate link)

MY REVIEW:

I love to read books about the Amish lifestyle. The Keeper does not disappoint.

The Keeper is a story of taking care of family, lost love, and found love.

With the main story line of Julia and her wedding, there is a second story line of heart disease and heart transplant. A heart donor comes from a most unlikely, heart wrenching place. While the events leading up to the donor heart being available are heart wrenching, the family accepts the donor heart with peace. Knowing that the donation is surely what the donor wanted, the family accepts the donation with a peace about them.

If you also like reading books about the Amish lifestyle, you’ll love The Keeper.

What’s For Dinner?

January 9, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

Saturday – Sabbath- Make ahead meals- Chicken Jambalaya, corn

Sunday – soup & sandwich day – Turkey Sandwiches (leftover Christmas turkey from freezer), Homemade Baked Beans from freezer, homemade pickles – dill and bread & butter, chips

Monday – chicken – turkey soup, biscuits

Tuesday – pizza/pasta – homemade mac & cheese, green beans

Wednesday – super simple – left overs

Thursday – beef – Homemade chili from freezer – maybe rice? pasta? potatoes? biscuits? to go with?? I’ll wait and see what I feel like making that day. lol

Friday – Sabbath Dinner – Roasted turkey, baked potatoes, squash casserole using home canned yellow squash

Wondering how many weeks in a row I’ve had the squash casserole on the menu? I’m really going to make it this week! I think……..lol

For more ideas, visit Menu Plan Monday

The Accidental Bride – Book Review

January 9, 2012 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:

Denise Hunter

and the book:

The Accidental Bride

Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012)

***Special thanks to
Audra Jennings – The B&B Media Group – for sending me a review copy.***

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Denise lives in Indiana with her husband Kevin and their three sons. In 1996, Denise began her first book, a Christian romance novel, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she’s been writing ever since. Her books often contain a strong romantic element, and her husband Kevin says he provides all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

Visit the author’s website.

SHORT BOOK DESCRIPTION:

Shay Brandenberger has built her entire life on the shifting sands of what others think. Constantly seeking the approval of others, she has struggled through a rocky childhood, a failed marriage and single parenthood. Now it looks like she’s losing the ranch that has been in her family for three generations, a surefire way to mark her as a failure in the eyes of the community. When Travis McCoy, the high school sweetheart who very publicly broke her heart fifteen years before, returns to Moose Creek, she is less than pleased. Not only does his re-appearance dredge up a deluge of painful memories, it also reminds everyone in town that it was he who left her, not the other way around. To make matters worse, Shay and Travis are unwittingly paired to play bride and groom in the annual Founder’s Day wedding re-enactment where, much to her chagrin, she discovers he still has the power to take her breath away.

Product Details:

List Price: $15.99

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Thomas Nelson (January 3, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1595548025
ISBN-13: 978-1595548023

AND NOW…THE FIRST CHAPTER:

The bell above the diner’s door jingled
and—despite her most valiant effort—Shay Brandenberger’s eyes darted toward the
entry. An unfamiliar couple entered—tourists. She could tell by their khaki
Eddie Bauer vests and spanking-new hiking boots. Look out, Yellowstone.

When her heart rate returned to normal,
she checked her watch and took a sip of coffee. Five minutes till she met Miss
Lucy at the Doll House, forty till she met John Oakley at the bank. What if he
said no? What would they do then?

“Mom . . . Earth to Mom . . .” Olivia
waved her hand too close to Shay’s face, her brown eyes widening.

“Sorry, hon.” The one bright moment of
her Saturday was breakfast with her daughter, and she couldn’t enjoy it for the
dread. “What were you saying?”

Olivia set her fork on her
pancake-sticky plate and heaved a sigh worthy of her twelve-year-old self.
“Never mind.” She bounced across the vinyl bench, her thick brown ponytail
swinging. “I’m going to meet Maddy.”

“Right back here at noon,” Shay called,
but Olivia was out the door with the flick of her hand.

The diner buzzed with idle chatter.
Silverware clattered and scraped, and the savory smell of bacon and fried eggs
unsettled her stomach. She took a sip of the strong brew from the fat rim of
her mug.

The bell jingled again. I will not look. I will
not look. I will not—

The server appeared at her booth, a new
girl, and gathered Olivia’s dishes. “On the house today.”

Shay set down her mug, bristling. “Why?”

The woman shrugged. “Boss’s orders,” she
said, then made off with the dirty dishes.

From the rectangular kitchen window,
Mabel Franklin gave Shay a pointed look.

So Shay had helped the couple with their
foal the week before. It was the neighborly thing to do.

Fine. She gave a reluctant smile and a
wave. She pulled her wallet from her purse, counted out the tip, and dragged
herself from the booth, remembering her daughter’s bouncy exit. Lately her
thirty-two years pressed down on her body like a two-ton boulder.

She opened the diner’s door and peeked
both ways before exiting the Tin Roof and turning toward the Doll House. She
was only checking sidewalk traffic, not hiding. Nope, she wasn’t hiding from
anyone. The boardwalks were busy on Saturdays. That was why she hadn’t come to
town for two weeks. Why their pantry was emptier than a water trough at high
noon.

She hurried three shops down and slipped
into the cool, welcoming air of Miss Lucy’s shop.

“ ’Morning, Miss Lucy.”

“ ’Morning, dear.” The elderly woman, in
the middle of helping a customer, called over her rounded shoulder, “It’s in
the back.” Miss Lucy’s brown eyes were big as buckeyes behind her thick
glasses, and her white curls glowed under the spotlights.

“Okeydoke.” Shay forced her feet toward
the storeroom.

A musty smell assaulted her as she
entered the back room and flipped on the overhead fluorescents. She scanned the
boxes of doll parts and skeins of yarn until she found what she was looking
for. She approached the box, lifted the lid, and parted the tissue.

The wedding gown had been carefully
folded and tucked away. Shay ran her fingers over the delicate lace and pearls.
Must’ve been crisp white in its day, but time had cast a long shadow over it.
Time had a way of doing that.

Her fingers lingered on the thin fabric.
She remembered another time, another dress. A simple white one that hung on her
young shoulders, just skimmed the cement of the courthouse steps. The ache that
squeezed her heart had faded with time, but it was there all the same. Would it
ever go away?

Shaking her head, Shay turned back to
the task at hand. The gown seemed too pretty, too fragile to disturb.

Oh well. She’d promised.

She pulled it out and draped it over the
box, then shimmied from her jeans. When she was down to the bare necessities,
she stepped carefully into the gown. She eased it over her narrow hips and slid
her arms into the long sleeves. The neckline was modest, the gathered skirt
fuller than anything she ever wore. Here in the air-conditioning it was fine,
but she would swelter next Saturday.

Leaving the button-up back gaping, she
hitched the skirt to the top of her cowboy boots and entered the store.

Miss Lucy was ushering the customer out
the door. When she turned, she stopped, her old-lady shoes squeaking on the
linoleum. “Land sakes.”

Shay took two steps forward and dropped
the skirt. It fell to the floor with a whoosh.

“Fits like a glove,” Miss Lucy said.
“And with some low heels it’ll be the perfect length.”

Shay didn’t even own heels. “My boots’ll
have to do. Button the back?”

Miss Lucy waddled forward, turned Shay
toward a small wall mirror flecked with time, and began working the tiny pearl
buttons.

Shay’s breath caught at her image. She
forced its release, then frowned. Wedding gowns were bad luck. She’d sworn
she’d never wear another. If someone had told her yesterday she’d be wearing
this thing today, she’d have said they were one straw short of a bale.

Miss Lucy moved up to the buttons
between her shoulders, and Shay lifted her hair. The dress did fit, clinging to
her torso like it was made for her, wouldn’t you know. Even the color
complemented her olive skin.

Still, there was that whole bad luck
thing.

And what would everyone think of Shay
Brandenberger wearing this valuable piece of Moose Creek heritage? A white
wedding gown, no less. If she didn’t have the approval of her closest friends
and neighbors, what did she have? Not much, to her thinking.

She wanted to cut and run. Wanted to
shimmy right out of the dress, tuck it into that box in the storeroom, slip
back into her Levi’s and plaid button-up, and go back to her ranch where she
could hole up for the next six months.

She checked the time and wished Miss
Lucy had nimbler fingers. Of all days to do this, a Saturday, when everyone
with two legs was in town. And she still had that infernal meeting with John
Oakley.

Please, God, I can’t lose our home . . .

“I’m obliged to you, dear. I completely
forgot Jessie was going out of town.”

“No problem.”

“Baloney. You’d rather be knee-deep in
cow dung.” The woman’s marionette lines at the sides of her mouth deepened.

“It’s one hour of my life.” A pittance,
after all Miss Lucy had done for her.

Miss Lucy finished buttoning, and Shay
dropped her hair and smoothed the delicate lace at the cuffs.

“Well, bless you for being willing. God
is smiling down on you today for your kindness.”

Shay doubted God really cared one way or
another. It was her neighbors she worried about.

“Beautiful, just beautiful. You’ll be
the talk of the town on Founders Day.”

“No doubt.” Everyone in Moose Creek
would be thinking about the last time she’d worn a wedding gown. And the time
before that.

Especially the time before that.

Third time’s a charm, Shay thought, the corner of her lip
turning up.

“Stop fretting,” Miss Lucy said,
squeezing her shoulders. “You look quite fetching, like the gown was made for
you. I won’t have to make a single alteration. Why, it fits you better than it
ever did Jessie—don’t you tell her I said so.”

Shay tilted her head. Maybe Miss Lucy
was right. The dress did make the most of her figure. And she had as much right
to wear it as anyone. Maybe more—she was born and raised here, after all. It
was just a silly old reenactment anyway. No one cared who the bride and groom
were.

The bell jingled as the door opened
behind her. She glanced in the mirror, over her shoulder, where a hulking
silhouette filled the shop’s doorway. There was something familiar in the set
of the man’s broad shoulders, in the slow way he reached up and removed his
hat.

The sight of him constricted her rib
cage, squeezed the air from her lungs as if she were wearing a corset. But she
wasn’t wearing a corset. She was wearing a wedding gown. Just as she had been
the last time she’d set eyes on Travis McCoy.

Read the Bible in 90 Days – Week 1 Check In

January 8, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

It’s time to get started with our reading! I’m so excited! I’m going to be reading this time, too!

I pray we all have an awesome 90 days reading God’s Word together.

Here is a Bible in 90 Days bookmark to print so you can check off your reading every day.

You can also visit Mom’s Tool Box Bible in 90 Days Week One to download several You Are Here in the Bible pages. These pages have all the major information from each days reading, major events, themes and people. These look awesome! I think these will be great for my kids, too!

So let’s get started!

Leave a comment to let me know you’ve started your reading.

Have a great week!!

Z-Guides to the Movies – Review

January 8, 2012 by Linda @ Linda's Lunacy

As part of The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Review Crew, I received the digital version of the Z-Guide for Les Miserables to review.

From the Zeezok website:

Established in 2003, we believe “It is better to build children than to repair men.” To that end we strive to provide quality literature and educational books for use in training the next generation. We trust our products will assist you in developing your family’s love for God and country.

What is a Z-Guide? A Z-Guide let’s you incorporate movies into your curriculum. All of the movies that there are guides for fall into a specific time in history. You can search the Z-Guides by Historical Timeline, making it easy to find a Z-Guide to use with your history curriculum. Kids and teens love to watch movies, using a Z-Guide is a great way to reinforce what they are already learning. Most of the movies should be available at your library, or with an online service. You may not have to buy the movie. Zeezok does sell the movies to go with the guides. The guides are written for specific versions of the movies. If there is more than one version of the movie your buying the guide for, make sure you have the right version of the movie.

For this review, we received the digital version of the Les Miserables Z-Guide. The Z-Guides are available as downloads or CD’s shipped in the mail. The cost for these guides is $12.99 each for in home use. If you would like to use they guides in a group setting, like a homeschool co-op, they are $49.99. There are Z-Guides available for elementary grades through high school. Les Miserables is for high school students.

You can view a Z Guide sample, this sample is similar in format to the Les Miserables Z Guide I received. I was very impressed with the quality of the guide. It is very thorough. The kids read the synopsis of the movie before watching it. Then there are several pages of review questions for them to answer while watching the movie. I found this to work much better in the kids understanding the movie, compared to just taking their own notes while watching the movie.

The guides are written so they are completed in 5 days, with 2 activities being done every day. Of course, you can adjust this to fit your schedule. We took longer than 5 days to complete the study. On day one, you watch the movie and answer the review questions. The remaining 4 days have activities built around the historical time period of the movie, a hands on activity, a world view activity and a Filmmakers Art activity. The students will learn research skills, writing skills and critical thinking while completing the activities. And for the parents, answers are provided for all the questions!

I found the Les Miserables Z-Guide to be a great addition to our history curriculum.

See what other Homeschool Crew members are saying about Z-Guides.

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