Book Review: Jane Austen by Peter Leithart

This biography starts with a description of the world as Jane knew it, how she and her family fit into it and the people who had an influence on her.  We learn of how she was educated and what her life was like as a young woman.  Then we walk with her as she writes, lives through her father's death, becomes a published author and dies at an early age. 

If you have a desire to learn more about Jane Austen I highly recommend this book.  It is well written with many facts and information about Jane, her family, their lifestyle, and the period of time in which she lived.  The author holds your interest with lots of excerpts from letters Jane wrote, anecdotes, and quotes.  By the end of the book I felt that I knew Jane and can now see how her personality comes through her books.

I received a copy of this book for free from Thomas Nelson Publishers.  I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Homeschool Wishlist: Fun Stuff

Well, as fun as school work can get.  I'm just kidding.  Here are a few things I want to add to our studies next year.

  An instruction book on sculpting.  I will have a seventh grader next year and want to add some fine arts work into his schedule.

Some fun colors to work with.

   Tools to work the clay.

  Watercolor: For the Artistically Undiscovered.  Maybe he will be discovered!


  I have Drawing With Children by Mona Brookes already.  We will go through the lessons together.  I worked through the book with my older sons and was very impressed with our results.


   Photography.

Now I need to find some productive pursuits for the younger students.  I'm thinking of crochet, knitting and sewing for my daughters.  I'm not sure what to do with my 8 year old boy.  Maybe I'll hand him over to my husband!

Not To Be Negative But Something I Hate!

No, not my dog!  But it does have to do with dogs.  I hate when people have dogs, especially aggressive ones, and don't keep them in their yard.  We went riding on Monday and a male pit bull came out of his yard(the gate was wide open) and chased us.  He ran up to my daughter who was in front of me and looked like he would bite her leg.  He stayed right by her leg as he barked and ran along beside her.  I rode past her to attract his attention and he did the same thing to me.  He did not bite anyone but he did scare my girls.  It gave me the opportunity to explain why you should never scream when a dog comes up to you.

So, if you have dogs, no matter how sweet they are, please keep them in your yard unless you are supervising them and absolutely sure they would not harm or even scare someone.  Lots of people are not comfortable around dogs and may react in a way that would cause your dog to do something he would normally never do.  That is all.

Overheard At My House

Sarah was cuddling with my arm while Elijah and I were working on phonics.

She started patting the back of my arm.

And then she announced, "Your arm is flubbery!"  Gee thanks, Sarah. 

Links For Living, Teaching, Eating, and a Movie

 

Something I needed to hear this week.  The entry for Wednesday, March 17th 2010.

Super simple but delicious cabbage recipe.  Everyone had seconds and thirds!  My children are not big cabbage eaters either. 

Short and easy way to get classical music appreciation into you kids.   We listen to a show or two each week.  These shows are a great introduction to each composer and are fun and interesting to listen to.  Yes, I make my kids listen to classical.  I like to have it playing in the background during schooltime.  I use pandora for the itouch for a nice commercial free mix.  You can also stream music from your computer.  The Baroque period is my favorite.

We watched the movie Taking Chance this week.  It is the touching story of a Marine, killed in battle, being returned to his family.  It gave me hope for our country's future.  The extra features are a must see if you rent this.  Netflix has it available.

52 Books Week 24

30. Atkins Diabetes Revolution

Recipe: Italian Chicken and Rice Casserole

I don't know if someone from Italy would actually make this but it has some Italian elements so that's why I called it Italian chicken and rice casserole.  My family said this dish was tasty.  It looked and smelled good to me but I'm on Atkins induction so I couldn't taste it.  Anyway, if you want to see what kind of palate my family has you can cook it.

Ingredients:
6 cups of cooked brown rice (2cups rice cooked in 4 cups of water)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 leftover baked chicken leg quarters boned and chopped or about 2-4 cups chicken
2 15oz cans diced tomatoes 
2 cups frozen spinach thawed
Italian seasoning to taste(a teaspoon or two)
Salt and pepper to taste(I used a few good shakes of a 21 spice blend)
1/2-1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter

Start cooking your rice and by the time everything else is ready the rice will be finished.  Saute onion in olive oil until translucent.   Add spinach, diced tomatoes, and spices.  Cook until heated through.  Stir butter and chicken into rice.  Pour both mixtures into a 9x13" baking pan and stir together.  Add cheese and stir again.  Pop into 350 degree oven and bake for 20-30 minutes.  Serve with additional cheese sprinkled over the top if desired.

Next time I will saute some garlic with the onion.  I didn't know what kind of flavor I was going for until I was almost finished.

If you make this and like it please let me know.  If you make it and don't like it then you can let me know or leave a comment warning others away from this recipe.

Heirloom Seeds

I ordered my heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.  This is the first year that I will be focusing on growing heirlooms.  I bought many different seeds to try.  Pumpkins, peas, summer squash, winter squash, corn, herbs, and flowers.  I let each of the children choose a veggie to try. 

I also ordered this garden planner.  You line it up with your last spring frost or first fall frost and it tells you when you should plant each crop and when it should be ready to harvest.  This will make figuring out planting times so much easier for me.   

And I ordered The Heirloom Gardener.  It is the magazine that Baker Creek publishes.  I can't wait to get my first copy!

 

My mom lives in California and happened to be in Petaluma with some friends and found their Seed Bank.  Isn't that a fun idea, to sell seeds from an old bank?  She said it was really neat and that they had samples of  radishes and beets.  Maybe one day when I visit her again we can check it out together.  We are garden nerds! 

Molly's Money Saving Digest January 2010 Review

I am trying out to be on The Old Schoolhouse Magazine's homeschool crew and received a complimentary copy of Molly's Money Saving Digest for January to review.

Specifications:
 Molly's Money Saving Digest January 2010 Evaluate, Prioritize, Organize
www.econobusters.com
$4.95 from TOS Magazine's Schoolhouse Store.
Written for moms with a section for children and teens
48 pages full of info to keep you thinking all month long

What is Molly's Money Saving Digest?  It is similar to a magazine but in e-book format.  It has many different sections all focused on helping you to save money and to live better on less.  Some of the sections included- cooking, organization, decor/craft, menus, kids corner, my story, links, forms.

I have seen this product advertised in the Old Schoolhouse Magazine and online but didn't think it would be helpful to me.  After all I have been married and running a household for almost 18 years.  I was pleasantly surprised by the digest.  It was fun to read with an upbeat and encouraging tone.  I even learned a few things and was motivated to do a better job with what I have.

The cooking section was well written and even though I have been making pies from scratch since my teens I learned a few new tricks!

I liked the forms in the tips and tools section.  I need to print and use the monthly bills list.  The forms were cute and color coordinated.  I really like the space for a memory verse included in the daily plan(to do list).

The Feather Your Nest section had some frugal crafts that look really nice-not frugal!  The directions were clear and easy to follow.  I think the projects would be easy for older children and moms without a lot of crafting experience to make.  You would also be proud to display them in your home.

In The Kitchen With Molly was full of easy, healthy menus.  They would be easy to tailor to our lower carb way of eating while still saving money at the grocery store.

The Kids' Corner was well thought out.  There is a craft(piggy bank) for all ages and a lesson on using a checking account for older children.  I plan to print that section and go through it with my teens when they are home from school for the summer.

The Evaluate, Prioritize, Organize section, My Story, and From My Mailbox where encouraging and got my thoughts going on how to make some changes in my household.

Overall, the digest was refreshing and fun to read.  It reminded me that saving money can be fun, creative, and tasty.  I think the digest would be useful to just about any woman running a household.  If you want to breath some new life into your frugal lifestyle try a digest and see what you think. 

Molly's blog

More Molly products

Poor Lily!

The big boys like to pick her up and carry her around like a baby.  She doesn't like that very much.

Overheard At My House

I also want seconds on freak corn.

Links For Eating Like a Caveman and Gardening Like a Girl?

 Because I'm a cavewoman I found this article interesting.   I don't consider myself paleo or anything really.  Just a low carb girl struggling to find the right diet to keep my body healthy.

Garden inspiration.  A pretty potager.

Have a great week!

52 books Week 23

28. Adrenal Fatigue The 21st Century Stress Syndrome by James L. Wilson

29. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Math Bonding

Daffodils

I love daffodils.  The bulbs I planted last fall finally started blooming.

I think the little white ones are so pretty.

 

Free Range Piggies

We try to take the guineas out every day to graze on grass.  It's good for them and  saves on the salad bill.

Sorry about the strange angles.  I had my foot propped up on top of the crate.

They can't go totally free range cause we don't want to lose them.  They get to hang out in a dog crate that Lily outgrew.

They love their outside time.  Notice the cars and trucks in the above photo?  Elijah thinks they need toys to play with.

We Found Tile!

The carpet in our living room is really bad.  The skylights leak so there are stains from the moisture. 

I was cleaning up after the kitties when I found tile underneath the carpet.

My oldest was home for spring break so he ripped the carpet our for me.

Wow, that floor makes some kind of statement! 

But it is clean and the mold is gone.  I will find an area rug or two to soften up the new look.

Overheard At My House

 

When the four year old opened the kiddie gate for his little brother he said, "Open Destiny!"

Links For Childrens' Health, Home and Blog Inspiration and A Low Carb Life

Grab a cup of tea or coffee and let me share a few things I read last week. 

Do you take vitamin D3?  We started at the end of last summer.  We have been healthier with less colds and flu than last year!  I buy gummy d3s at wally(I know!) for the children.  They also take emergen-c and herbal teas.  Here's a quick post on a study that shows vit. D was found to prevent flu in children. 

Ever had one of those weeks?  Cara had one too!  I love her attitude about it.  She has lots of great info on natural health if you want to look around a bit.

I'm following a blog "spring cleaning" written by Mariana at Riding With No Hands.  I've gotten some great ideas and inspiration to make my blog better from reading and working along with her.

And I found inspiration to start Atkins induction "by the book" at this site.  I've been keeping my carbs under 20 per day, no nuts, no dairy, and no stevia/sweetener for over 10 days and gained 2 pounds!  So it's time to get serious and go to induction again.  I really want to get the rest of this baby weight off.  I can't do much exercise with my broken toe and a hurt wrist but I will try to ride my bike a few times this week and maybe even do some Callanetics. 

Here's to the new week just starting and full of promise.  Have a great one and make the best of it!

Miss Cali All Grown Up

You can find her baby photo over on the side bar.  Here she is now. 

She is a very feisty cat.  She rules the pet roost in our house.

She has medium length hair and is medium sized but she has an extra large attitude!

52 books Week 22

25. A life That Says Welcome by Karen Ehman.  Great book!  Lots of ideas to help you welcome guests to your home, make your family feel special, organize, clean, and take hospitality to others.  It gave me lots to think about and encouraged me to do a better job of keeping my home for my family.

26. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy.  Caleb has to read this for his English class so I read it first.  It was o.k., not my preferred reading.

27. The Thyroid Diet by Mary J. Shomon.

$5.00 Gift Certificate For Adagio Teas

Do you drink tea?  I just placed my first order with Adagio Teas.  I bought the glass infuser and green teas gift set along with six individual teas.  My order came out to just over $50.00.  I can't wait to try my new teas!

 

Now on to the gift certificate.  If you go to their homepage and follow them on twitter they will send you a gift certificate for $5.00.  They also have free shipping if your order is over $50.00 and 10% off green tea for St. Patty's Day. 

They have many teas to choose from green, black, white, oolong, flavored and even decaffe and herbal teas.  Check them out!

Review: Gigi's Hugest Announcement(DVD)

Gigi's Hugest Announcement (DVD) 

Gigi, God's Little Princess

by Sheila Walsh

Two of Sheila Walsh's stories are animated and retold on this DVD.  Each one starts with sweet illustrations from the actual books.  After an introduction by Lord Fluffy (Gigi's cat) the story becomes animated.  The first story is about a special announcement Gigi wants to make to her friend Francis.  In the second story Gigi wants to hold a dance to praise God.  During a difficult time in each story Gigi is counseled by a parent.  Her parents share Bible verses with her that help her to see the solution to her problems.  Her father tells her in one of the stories that she is God's princess because He chose her not because of what she does for Him.  

Biblical truths are presented in a clear, easy to understand manner that is fun for girls to watch.  My six year old daughter summed the stories up by saying "I like the ballet and when she was having a tea party with her friend Francis."  There are lots of neat bonus features included in the DVD like watching an animator draw Gigi and her cat, a game, and my favorite a read along of a few more of the author's books. 

I was not paid for this review but I did receive a free copy of the DVD from Thomas Nelson Publishers.

Top 6 Reasons Why I Can't Commit To Traditional Rasied Beds In My Garden

First of all, wasn't that title long enough?  I'm surprised you got through it to find out what this post is about.

I like raised beds in the veggie garden but I don't make them in the usual way.  I throw the soil from the paths onto the beds to make them higher, smooth them with a rake, and plant.  Why?  I will give a list of my reasons.

1. Commitment.  I can't commit to the same sized beds in the same place year after year.  Bigger and better, smaller and more productive, different ideas draw me each season.  This year it is the potager.

 

2. Cost  If I can't commit to size and location I don't want to spend the money to use boards or bricks to edge my beds.  The soil mostly stays in place anyway.  It takes a little maintnence to keep it neat  but I don't mind.

  

 3. Choice of material.  How could I ever decide what to use to edge the beds?

  

4. Six sons.  Yep, they are part of my reason.  Boys need hard labor and lots of it!  It keeps them busy and out of trouble.  

  

If they aren't busy they can get into trouble, as pictured below.

  

5. Two Girls.  They appreciate beauty.  I want them to try new things without worrying that the results are perfect.

 

6. Exercise.  All that changing gets me out into the fresh air and sunshine for some productive exercise.