TITLE:  HOW TO SQUEEZE A LEMON: 1,023 Kitchen Tips, Food Fixes, and Handy Techniques 

AUTHORS:  FINE COOKING MAGAZINE

PUBLISHER: THE TAUNTON PRESS

PUBLISH DATE: 11/09/2010

MY THOUGHTS:As a working mom of 6, I am all about tips and shortcuts in the kitchen.  This book is chock full of tips and tricks.  It is not necessary to read it in one sitting, it is easy to flip few a few pages as you find the time.  Many of these tips I had already discovered but several new ones I have incorporated into my cooking routine now.   My favorite tip was: use to the bottom edge of a ceramic coffee mug to sharpen your kitchen knives, I LOVE this tip, so easy and practical. I use it nearly every day.  Some other great tips are:  Protect your magazine while cooking by inserting it into a gallon-size zip-top bag, use a spoonful of flour keeps raisins from sinking, and use marbles to warn you when boiling water is too low. There are many solutions to problems that frequently arise when meal planning, this book is filled with enough tips to assure that you will find one to solve most every kitchen dilemma. The book has seven sections covering: kitchen gear, fruits/vegetables, meat/fish/poultry, techniques, the pantry, wine/beer, and what to do when things go wrong. 

Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter

Publisher's Synopsis: Bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter brings you three historical stories of finding room for love. Glenna Moore is desperate after she watches her gambling father jump hurriedly from the back of a moving train. Will a young reverend bring stability and love back into her life? Judith King’s life as a new schoolteacher takes an unexpected turn when a widowed father begins to captivate her thoughts. Will she muster enough courage to seek his love? Bev Winters’s job is an answer to prayer until her boss complicates her widowed life. Will her pride allow love after loss?

Title: Lazarus Awakening Author: Joanna Weaver My Thoughts: Joanna Weaver has a gift. Weaver’s conversational writing is so easy to read; however, her words impacted my heart deeply. She uses the biblical story of Lazarus and how Jesus raised him from the dead to encourage her readers to delve deeper into a love relationship with the Lord. We need to invest time into that relationship so we can hear His voice and in return He will set us free from mediocre living, and give us an abundant life. We need to surrender ourselves completely to Him in order to move into that new life. I find this the hard part, letting go. Weaver said that we need to relax and just let Jesus love us. Stop trying so hard and just let go, choose to believe that He loves us unconditionally.

TripAdvisor has launched a new sister site called SniqueAway. It’s a by invitation only, member site that features top brand and A-List accomadations at very affordable pricing. Each 4 to 5 star hotel deal is offered for a limited time only. The featured hotels will showcase pictures, accomdations, reviews, as well as local hotspot.

When you find a deal you like, book quickly. Deals only last 7 days or until sold out. They also offer a referral program which can allow you to earn credits from family and friends you refer. I’ve been a member for a week and the deals that I have seen are really good. The hotels offered are beautiful and the prices are excellent. They also give you a “snique’ peek of what hotels will be featured soon. If you are heading to Disney, be sure to look check out the Bonnet Creek deal on Feburary 17th. Join Today! As a BzzAgent, I received an invitation to try this site out.

Author: Sandy Coughlin

Publisher's Synopsis: Real Entertaining for Real People

True hospitality is not about being perfect, cooking a fancy meal, or spending a lot of money. Rather, it's about an open door and an open heart. Rather, it's about an open door and an open heart. Popular blogger Sandy Coughlin offers a simple but savvy approach to help women break free of the anxieties that keep them from opening their homes. Emphasizing the forgotten goal of entertaining--connecting deeply with others--she shows how women can use the gifts and talents God gave them to reach out in love.

Title: 14 Secrets to Better Parenting: Powerful Principles from the Bible

Author: Dave Early

Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.

I enjoyed this book.  Dave Earley bases his “14 Secrets” from the Bible’s book of Proverbs. From “Concentrate on Wisdom” to “Help Them Experience God for Themselves,” these principles will help every parent learn use scriptures of the Book of Proverbs to raising successful children.  Each Secret has a “A Look in the Mirror” section at the end to allow readers to do a self-evaluation on how the reader is currently applying the biblical examples of parenting as taught in the Book of Proverbs.

The section that most applied to me was “The Four Perils of Folly”.  I have been been researching how to help my children overcome a poor example of foolishness  that was present in my former marriage. Mr. Early spoke directly to my heart regarding this area and I believe it accurately describes foolishness and the ramifications of parenting with “folly” and then offers ways to overcome it.

The author continuously quotes scripture from Proverbs to keep his teaching scripture based. I highly recommend this book for newer Christians and especially parents that love application of scripture.

This book will be available on or near April 1, 2011.

(Disclaimer:  I received a digital copy of this book free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Yippee!  Our taxes are filed!  It took about a total of 9 minutes for me to run through the amazing TurboTax program.  I used the TurboTax last year so it was a breeze.  It imported all our information, yes all seven of our deductions along with social security numbers, employers and even pin number for the IRS. We E-filed free too. If you are looking for a tax program give TurboTax a try.  Best of all, I received the TurboTax Basic free in the mail as a thank you for using their program last year.

Through Bzz Agent, A website that promotes products via word of mouth advertising, I was able to try The Factor Tree. The Factor Tree is a math website geared towards kids in grades PreK thru 6th grade. My daughter, who is in 1st grade and I sat down to check out this website. From a child's perspective, my daughter did not like the website. We have done a few learning website as part of our learning this year. Most website incorporate games into the learning atmosphere, where this one did not. When you first register, you do a evaluation. My daughter gave up on that part and I had to encourage her to finish it. In the end, she said she did not want to do this website anymore and only kept working as long as I required her to. As a mom, I think the initial evaluation was a little long. It seemed to repeat questions and while I understand its gaged to see where you are there were alot of questions that I didn't think was appropriate for 1st grade level (ex. identifying shapes). One thing I did like about the program is it provided a testing atmosphere. I know that my child is really doing math geared items, where some of the websites in the past we have encounter I had my doubts. Overall, I would use this website in our learning, but just would not use it daily. Interested in trying this website out for yourself.  Visit The Factor Tree and enter the code BzzAgent for a free 2 week trial.

Black Friday and Cyber Monday do not have to be just about gift giving.  Though you can score some pretty awesome deals on those days and really stretch the gift giving budget, it may also be a good time to do some major bargain shopping for non-gift items.  Need to add a few pieces of clothing to the wardrobe? Think the house could use a little sprucing up with new decor pieces? Use Black Friday and Cyber Monday to your benefit. 

With a three week old, we are still making baby purchases.  We are looking at video monitors, strollers, and baby sun tents, among other things.  We haven't purchased those specific things since he still sleeps in the same room with me and is always close enough so I haven't had a need for the monitor as of yet.  I've procrastinated on the stroller since I've been debating which type I actually want to get. I was considering a sit-n-stand for awhile, but have been leaning more toward the frame that his carrier can snap into. It costs less and seems to take up less room.  The baby sun tent we haven't had an immediate need for since he is still so little, he isn't actually "playing" yet or getting out and about much.  As for other things, we just discover what we need as we need it. Some things we still have from our first child and some things we buy as needed. 

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are great days to pick up these "needed" items while shops are offering rock bottom deals for Christmas gift-giving.  As you prepare to do your chopping, write down a few things you may need around the house in case you find a really awesome price on it.  This will save you money down the road when you may otherwise decide to buy it, but at a higher price.

Links provided by Smarter.com. All thoughts & opinions are 100% my own.