Posted in Product Review

Ah... can you smell it? It is only a hint, but it is there...
School is in the air.  We are starting back at the beginning of next week, and I am eager.  Now here at our homeschool we are learning and growing every day, so it is not really like school shuts down for us, but 'technically' school will be starting back for us really soon. 
One thing that I am LOVING as to help me to prepare for lessons and just organize my life is my new Schoolhouse Planner!  WOW, can I say WOW again?
It is fantastic! I have been printing and developing my own unique planner and it is really going to be just the thing I need this year to keep me on my game!
When you purchase your planner, it will come to you as a PDF file.  You get to pick and choose from 247 different pages, including the lovely cover pictured above. 
I have a plain 3 ring binder with a clear overlay so my cover is protected.  Another great thing is the months are available to print and the are big, big enough to write in! Which is so nice!!  I have the room to write all my goings on, and not have to get my magnifying glass out to be able to read what I have written.
There are pages that you may what one copy of... there may be pages you want 4 copies of.... for me that is one for each child! You are NOT going to get that in a premade planner... you only get that in the Schoolhouse Planner that you can design just for YOU and YOUR family and how you function!
And that's not all!  There are great pages like Famous Inventions, Famous Artists, Presidents and their first ladies and all with dates!  There is a budget page, a weekly menu, grocery lists, monthly household duties checklist, and end of the year evaluation forms!
Everything you need as a homeschooling Mom to get you organized!
This truly is the BEST planner I have ever had and I look forward to using it ALL year long!
Have a great day!
My Cup Runneth Over...Chas

Posted in Product Review

Making Hand-Milled Soap for Fun and Profit!
Susan Godfrey
http://www.susangodfrey.blogspot.com/ 

One thing that I would like to learn how to do is to make soap. I love receiving handmade soaps and think that giving homemade gifts is the way to go, if possible. However, the idea of working with lye has put me off a bit as we have asthma and allergies in our home and I worry that the smell may be too much. Of course, I don't know anyone who makes soap to ask them about this! Susan Godfrey's Making Hand-Milled Soap for Fun and Profit! is the P-E-R-F-E-C-T eBook for beginning soap-makers. "Hand-milled" just means that you are taking any non-scented soap that you purchase at the store (or you can also use your own unscented soap), grate it and add essential oils or other ingredients to the mixture to make your own special soap! Honestly, it can't get much simpler than that!

Now, you must have access to a double boiler, some molds and the ingredients to make your own soap, but this is not a huge investment at all. Making Hand-Milled Soap for Fun and Profit! contains 20 ideas of where and how to sell your soap online or to get your name known in your community as THE person to contact for homemade soap. There are 52 recipes included in the eBook and Susan has included a short list of commonly used ingredients, too. There are even "specialty" soaps for massage and repelling insects! Her instructions for making the soap are thorough and easy to follow. A child could do this with the guidance of their parent!

You can purchase this eBook for $7.49 at Susan's blog (link above) or by clicking on the graphic above. I am hoping to try this with my kids this summer in order to create some unique and personal Christmas gifts for our family and friends!

- Product Review by Kris Price, Senior Editor - HomesteadBlogger.com

Posted in Product Review

This 43-page eBook by Susan Godfrey addresses an issue that is very important to the continuation of competent homemakers! Like Susan says, "Finding women who have been trained to be Titus 2 mentors has gotten harder and harder in today's world." Many young women have grown up in households where there was no emphasis on learning the domestic arts ... how will they know what to do to take care of a husband, children and an entire household?

Susan's eBook looks at the verses of Titus 2:3-5. She goes through each characteristic that describes a TItus 2 woman and explains, in today's terms, what it means to be such a Godly woman. This eBook is an easy read, but gives one much food for thought! I know that I have a lot of improving to do before I could be considered a Titus 2 woman. This would be a great study for a mom and daughter to do together or for a grandmother to read and share with her granddaughter. The Titus 2 Woman eBook is $7.49 and available to anyone with a computer ... no shipping necessary!

Product Review by Kris Price, Senior Editor - HomesteadBlogger.com

Posted in Product Review

A-Z Homesteading Cursive Penmanship book
Jonathon Dunlap
LightHome Publications
www.lighthome.net/ebooks

Here is the summary from the website, "This knowledge-packed cursive writing practice book describes for your middle school or high school student many aspects of self-sufficient rural living, one subject per page, from Alternative energy to Zero-till. You can use this book to expose your teen to the concepts involved in living off the land and making it useful and productive. Subjects include things like canning, dairy, fruit growing, horses, tractor implements, cheese and butter making, nubian goats, poultry, quilting, sheep, undergrand storage, growing vegetables, beekeeping, and much more. It’s like a country fair in a book for teens who are attracted to the idea of homesteading and rural living and who still need to practice their handwriting skills."

You can see sample pages, too - click here. This is a very unique item! First off, the purchaser is given permission to reproduce the pages for all members of the family, so spend $6.99 ONCE and use it over and over again with your children. This product is instantly downloadable and so available for use the minute you purchase it! The penmanship pages are in traditional cursive writing and the lines are already on the page for ease of use. The information presented on each page is interesting and many black -and- white illustrations on each page are just begging to be colored in! This book would appeal to students of both genders. There is a lot of good vocabulary in A-Z Homesteading Cursive, so your child will benefit in two ways - cursive writing practice and a new knowledge of many words. While aimed for use by middle and high school students, I believe that any child in need of cursive practice would be able to use this book.

- Product Review by Kris Price, Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com. Check out more of our product reviews in the Homestead Library.

Posted in Product Review

Penny Pinchin' Mama - 500 Ways I Lived on $500 a Month
Jill Cooper
Kellam Media & Publishing, Inc.
www.livingonadime.com
Wichita, KS

From the Living on a Dime website, we get this brief summary of the book, "As a single mother of two, best selling author Jill Cooper started her own business without any capital and paid off $35,000 debt in 5 years on $1,000 a month income. In her book she shares how she did it! This book is filled with practical, everyday ideas to help anyone stretch a small income."

I have purchased several of the books by the Living on a Dime authors and have been pleased with all of them. Even though I have been trying to live frugally since having my first child over 14 years ago, I still had several "Why didn't I think of that?" moments while reading Penny Pinchin' Mama. I don't think it is ever too late to learn new frugal tips and there were some good ones in here that I had never read before.

The book covers the following subject matter: Grocery Savings, Cleaning Supplies, Grooming, Clothes/Laundry, Babies, Toys, Teenagers, Entertainment, Eating Out, Home Improvement, Decorating, Furniture & Appliances, Utilities, Gardens & Yards, Cars. Ms. Cooper also talks about handling emergencies, what to do when you don't have ANY money and misc. ways to save money. You'll get some great tips for holding and visiting garage sales as well as working at home.

Of course, there will be hints and tips that you have heard before, but Ms. Cooper's story is inspiring and she encourages the reader to take a good look at their financial situation and see that one can really dig their way out of debt with just a little bit of creative thinking and a lot of positive attitude!

- Product Review by Kris Price, Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com. Check out more of our product reviews in the Homestead Library.

Posted in Product Review

Rock of Refuge (A Frontier Novel)
Donna Westover Gallup
Cladach Publishing
http://cladach.com/
P.O. Box 336144
Greeley, CO 80633

Rock of Refuge is the second book in the Mysterious Ways series. The setting is the Colorado Territory in 1871. Charlie, a young man of eighteen, lives with his grandfather on their farm. Charlie has longed to go on a cattle drive and has finally been given the 'go-ahead' by his grandfather. During the cattle drive, Charlie has many chances to share his Christian faith and he does so without hesitation in the hopes of sharing the good news about Christ. Of course, not every man on the cattle drive shares Charlie's faith and there are some bad feelings among some of the crew. He learns what it means to be a man of integrity as he meets several "villains" along the way. Charlie faces all kinds of new trials on the cattle drive and continually draws his strength from his relationship with God.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I am NOT a reader of "westerns." To be totally honest, I couldn't put it down! Even though the main characters were mostly male, it totally held my interest and I couldn't wait to see what happened next! This is a faith-strenghthening novel for the entire family to enjoy together!

You can also read a review of the first novel in the Mysterious Ways series.

- Product reviewed by Kris Price, Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com. Check out more of our product reviews in the Homestead Library.

Posted in Product Review

I have several items published by Susan Godfrey to review so I am spreading them out and reviewing one item monthly. Susan and I must be thinking alike because she just talked about her eBook, My Homekeeping Handbook, on her blog this week as well! Many people have homekeeping books all set up for you and Susan includes many forms in her eBook. However, she also talks through the process of HOW to set one up! She knows that what works for one person may not work for another.

I was given the "black" version to review as it contains the hints & tips for setting up your handbook. This item retails for $7.49. If you just want the forms, you can purchase them for $3.75 and you get to choose your color, too. Here is the list of the forms that are included in the instantly downloadable eBook:

1. There is a cover for the handbook, along with 10 index pages (Calendars, Cleaning, Kitchen, Family, Homeschool, Faith, Hobbies, Addresses, Miscellaneous and a blank one)
2. Address book form
3. Bible reading schedule
4. Daily assignments (homeschool)
5. Daily checklist (chores, to-do/to call, meal prep, homeschool prep & notes)
6. Family emergency contact information
7. Family medical history
8. Family member information
9. Family rules (4 pages, includes behaviors, Bible Verse and a place to write consequences)
10. Favorite recipes list
11. Freezer inventory
12. This week's menu
13. Monthly calendar (blank, you fill in)
14. Notes (blank & lined)
15. Prayer list
16. Reading list
17. Scripture memory chart (2 pages)
18. Sermon notes
19. Special Dates calendar
20. Weekly calendar.

I have purchased several different planners this year and they all have a different variety of forms to use. No two have been alike yet! I believe that I'll put together a table for comparison's sake of all of the different planners so that you can choose the best one suited for you. Susan's Homekeeping Handbook is put together very nicely and I would recommend this product.

Kris Price
Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com
www.homesteadblogger.com/hsbfrontporch
www.homesteadblogger.com/athomewithkris

Posted in Product Review

Our very own Lisa Barthuly has written a sweet eBook called Homestead Simplicity - A Primer. Here is how she describes what she has written, "Homestead Simplicity: A Primer shares helps for the Keeper of the Home! We like to keep it simple around here and, while I also want the best for my family, sometimes striking a balance between the two can be difficult at best. Join us as we share some simple hints, tips and recipes along with a little inspiration to add a little "Homestead Simplicity" to your life! Natural Cleaning recipes, Cooking from Scratch (easily!) planning/stocking your pantry, and loving care for your homestead and those in it!"

This 34-page eBook is probably best for the new homesteader or for someone, like myself, who has not been able to realize her dream of owning a little homestead. Categories include Homestead Kitchen, Recipes from the Homestead, Homestead Pantry, Putting Foods By, Homestead Cleaners, Homestead Clean and Healthy and Simple Living'. The recipes are mostly simply, yummy "down-home" fare that everyone will enjoy. However, I believe that even the most veteran homesteader would enjoy my favorite chapter, Homestead Cleaners . Just reading through that information has me excited to try making my own cleaners (that is one of my goals for this year!) and to share this newfound information with my children. I hope to inspire my daughter to take care of her family the best way possible. Homestead Simplicity - A Primer will make a sweet gift for her someday!

Kris Price
Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com
www.homesteadblogger.com/hsbfrontporch
www.homesteadblogger.com/athomewithkris

Posted in Product Review

I really like Susan Godfrey's blog, Simply Susan. She has such great information on natural living, vegetable gardening and MORE! Susan has recently published several eBooks and I'll be reviewing one each month ... here's the first one! I've seen so many posts recently about the book Nourishing Traditions, a book that I own myself and have owned for about four years, but never used! I just found myself intimidated by the changes I would have to make to incorporate all of that great information into our lifestyle. So, the book has sat on my shelf unused for a while. I just recently pulled it out again to review the information and then I received Susan's eBook, Nourishing Ways, and I am excited again about trying out this method of cooking and offering nutritious meals to my family!

The first 20 pages of Nourishing Ways consists of valuable information about how to provide the BEST food for your family. Some of the topics covered include healthy meats, organic produce, soaked grains and lacto-fermented foods. This eBook is 88 pages and contains recipes that I believe your family will enjoy - Bread Recipes, Main Dishes, Side Dish Recipes and Beginnings and Endings Recipes. Susan has posted several examples of recipes on her blog - Creamy Taco Casserole and Crustless Pumpkin Pie and Friendly Shepherd's Pie. After the recipes, there are three Appendices on Healthiest Choices for Recipe Ingredients, Sources for organic foods and information on this type of eating/cooking and a small list of Recommended Reading.

My husband gifted me with a set of Sue Gregg cookbooks last year and many of the recipes require the soaking of grains. After reading Susan's Nourishing Ways and seeing how easy some of the grain-soaking recipes look, I am excited to try them so that I can finally try the cookbooks by Sue Gregg, too. If you are interested in the book Nourishing Traditions, but want to try a smaller, "sample" version of that book, I highly recommend purchasing Susan's eBook Nourishing Ways - it will give you enough information to get started and to see if this type of cooking and eating is something that you want to pursue further. I'll be making a batch of her Pumpkin Waffles this week ... they sound delish!

Kris Price
Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com
www.homesteadblogger.com/hsbfrontporch
www.homesteadblogger.com/athomewithkris

Posted in Product Review

Before I begin my review of Dig Out of Debt, let me share some basic info about the book as it appears on their website,

Tawra and Jill explain:

Dig Out Of Debt: 1,000 of the Best Ideas from LivingOnADime.com contains 216 pages of the most popular information from the LivingOnADime.com web site.

• Save over $10,000 a year on groceries!
• Stop throwing your money away in the chaos and clutter!
• Get out of debt even when you have kids.
• Learn inexpensive but creative ways to make your holidays memorable!
• Read how Michael and Tawra paid off $20,000 debt on $22,000 per year income!

This book covers tips in the following categories: Money Management, Grocery Savings, Cleaning Cents, Kids Cents and Debt Free Holidays. If you have received their weekly newsletter, you will have read some of this information before. However, it is nice to have ALL of their thoughts in one bound book. For more information about what is covered in each category, check out their ordering page.

There is a lot of emphasis on organization throughout the book and I TOTALLY agree with most of the advice on this matter. Living frugally and trying to get out of debt requires time and organization.  If I plan menus based on the sales at the grocery store, I'll save more money than if I just walk in and buy whatever I want to eat. To be sure that I pay my bills on time so that I don't accrue any late fees, I should have ONE place that I place my bills to pay later. Then I'm not looking everywhere for the bills to pay them. Good emphasis is also placed on decluttering and getting rid of items that are taking up space in your home.

Now, I can't say that I agree with all of the advice in the book. Some of the ideas just won't work for a family depending upon their own personal philosophies. For example, I don't agree that you ALWAYS have to buy a used car to save the most money. There are several cars on the market that truly hold their value as we found out when we recently bought a brand new Honda Civic. Our research showed us that this car is the #1 car for retaining its resale value and it has also been in the Top 10 picks by Car & Driver magazine. When we went to buy a used Civic, there was only a savings of about $2000 on a 3-year old car with 60K miles on it. We made the choice to buy it brand-new based on our research.  I disagreed with the advice in this section of the book because it just didn't apply in our situation.  I do agree that buying a used car makes sense most of the time, but it also depends upon the car you are trying to buy. My main point is that we all need to make the best decision for our family and so you may not agree with the authors on every single point.

The advice on throwing parties for children was good, and I loved the recipes that were included, too. I think that my favorite section was the Debt-Free Holidays chapter. There were some great ideas for celebrating the holidays on a limited budget. We shouldn't let the holidays stress us out so much! The reader that will get the most "bang for their buck" is the newly frugal person. However, I have been living a fairly frugal lifestyle for at least 10 years now and I still learned some things reading through this book. You can buy your own copy at the LivingOnaDime site.

Kris Price
Senior Editor, HomesteadBlogger.com
www.homesteadblogger.com/hsbfrontporch
www.homesteadblogger.com/athomewithkris

Posted in Product Review

The Best of Living on a Dime: Grocery Savings
By Jill Cooper & Tawra Kellam
Kellam Media & Publishing, Inc.
www.livingonadime.com
Wichita, KS

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam have outdone themselves with this e-book. Everyone from the novice to the veteran homemaker can benefit from the wealth of information provided.

These ladies cover so much with regards to the concept of saving money on food. They cover topics such as coupons, eating out, time savers, freezing, grocery planning, evaluating where you shop, bargain groceries, 30 minute meals (this was an eye opener), food budgeting, vacations, and general shopping tips. I have been at this for 16 years, and I not only learned new things, but I was reminded of old practices that had been forgotten or overlooked over the years. I especially enjoy the little quips and facts they place in their books.

If you are looking to cut back on your food budget, this is an excellent resource. It is inexpensive ($6.95). You have probably thrown out that much food this month! So, use your food and spend the money on this e-book, and you will not regret it. One tip the ladies gave that I had never thought of was not shopping when you are tired. I never shop when hungry, but it never occurred to me to look at my energy level in relation to my shopping habits. The moment I read this, I began thinking about my shopping habits and knew instantly that I could cut my food bill simply by not shopping when fatigued. Another excellent portion of this e-book is dedicated to beverages. I will not go into detail, but this is information that should not be missed by anyone!

One aspect of grocery shopping that is not covered is health-conscious shopping. The authors talk about shopping for items in discount stores such as Save-A-Lot and Aldi. However, it has been my experience that these stores carry food items that are filled with chemicals and preservatives that I try to avoid when possible. There are frugal ways to keep your food budget down and still purchase healthful foods for your family. I am hopeful that this may be the focus of a future e-book from Living on a Dime.

Another idea that could have been covered is shopping at bulk/whole food stores. However, I’m sure that Jill and Tawra are trying to appeal to as many readers as they can. It’s possible that they chose not to include this topic because these stores are not widely available in all parts of the country.

Jill and Tawra have continued with their simple and concise formula for this e-book. You will not feel overwhelmed or confused. Take the information, adapt it for your family, and watch your food budget diminish!

Product review by Leslie Valeska, Contributing Writer, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, March 2007

Posted in Product Review

Menus on a Dime: Quick Dinners
By Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam
Kellam Media & Publishing, Inc.
www.livingonadime.com
Wichita, KS

In this e-book Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam give quality information on planning and preparing quick meals. Instead of offering the encyclopedia version of how, when, and where to do this, they keep the format clear and concise (something I appreciate and enjoy).

Inside you will find information pertaining to freezing food (this is a must read), kitchen maintenance, food preparation, desserts, and lots of recipes and menus. The authors expand on their vision of spending 30 minutes or less on meal preparation. I can recommend this e-book for everyone from novices to veterans in the homemaking world. I appreciate the variety of items that are included in the menus. And many of their tips are things that I have found to be tried and true. This book is simple and includes tons of advice that is often overlooked or forgotten. Whenever I read about homemaking and come away refreshed and with new ideas, I know the resource is a value to the homemaker. Whether you need a refresher or are just starting out, this is worth every penny of the $5.95 price. Couple this book with the authors’ Grocery Savings e-book and you have the perfect set of resources to get your food budget and meals in order.

Product review by Leslie Valeska, Contributing Writer, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, March 2007