Book Reviews..

I didn't really make any handwritten resolutions, but I do have a few goals in the back of my head. One of those being to read a book each month. If you will notice my Reading List on my sidebar, you will find 12 books--one for each month. Most of my list involves books that hopefully will help me become a better wife and mother. There are a couple theological type books and one or two fiction books as well. I hope to be able to write a review on each as I finish it so you can see if it may be something that you would like to read.

For this month, I read Homeschooling with A Meek and Quiet Spirit by Teri Maxwell from Titus2 ministries. I definitely could use some meek and quietness not only in the Homeschooling dept., but just in general.

If I could rate this book based on 5 stars, I would give it 3. The reasons being: First of all, there are several books out there (that I've read) that seem to say the exact thing that was covered in this book. Things that need saying, but I guess I was looking for something new, or something old, presented in a new way. Secondly, the book barely focuses on Homeschooling. Maybe one or two chapters really get into Homeschooling, but even then there aren't many examples or what to do when...you know? Maybe the title just wasn't appropriate? Would I recommend this book, YES! However if you are just looking for a book on how to be a better wife/mother, then I would suggest Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Jeannie Chancey/Stacy McDonald or Created to be His Helpmeet by Debi Pearl. If you are looking for help with being a better Homeschooling mother, this book would help, but it's not totally dedicated to Homeschooling.

As a side Review, I would like to review Pioneer Woman's Cookbook, that I received for Christmas. I love her site, especially her photography and her wonderful humor. Her cookbook was a must-have for me and I even got it for my SIL, Amy, for Christmas. I loved browsing through its pages and reading excerpts of this 'Accidental Country Girl'. The book automatically received 5 stars from me. Very colorful, humourous, just like her blog. However, as I started to make some of the recipes for my family, I decided that maybe it was all in the photography. First of all, be ready to dish out lotsa grocery money when making her dishes. She uses whole pounds of cheese, whole sticks of butter, etc... Surely, recipes with these ingredients would be TDF, right? So far, I've made the Tomato Soup...WAY too sweet and I didn't even use the amt of sugar SHE uses! It was like drinking a tomato juiced with added sugar out of the can. I have made the Shrimp Pasta a la Betsy or something like that, and it was pretty good. The Chicken Pot Pie was good, but had too much thyme in it for my taste. It tasted more like dressing. Last night, I made the country fried steak which was just okay and the gravy, which was okay, used 2 or 3 cups of milk, and I made the macaroni and cheese which was sorta blah and used a pound of cheese and another cup of milk. I have made a couple more items, but I think I will mostly be enjoying this cookbook for the photography and the um, last page. If you have the book, you know what's on the last page. :) Oh yes, and the cinnamon rolls! :) So, 3 out of 5 stars from me. I think her best recipes are on her website. http://www.thpioneerwoman.com/.

As for me, my kiddos are not finding my reviews helpful, in fact, they are finding them a hindrance to my getting them their breakfast!