31 Days to Clean

I just saw this on Money Saving Mom and thought it just might be the motivation I need to get my house cleaned up. You should check out 31 Days to Clean and join the Group Challenge from 5/1 to 5/31 following the e-book.

Booking It 2011: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

This month I read Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. I have to say that I really loved this book. My family seems to eat a lot of sandwiches and, therefore, we go through a lot of bread. I don't like buying the cheap $1.00 per loaf bread that I can get at the grocery store nor do I like paying $4.00 per loaf at times for the good bread. So I thought this might be a good alternative to keeping bread in my house but not breaking the bank. I tried 3 different recipes from the book: Soft American Sandwich Bread, Crusty Sandwich Bread, and Boule.

The Soft American Sandwich Bread was ok. I didn't get great results with it. The crumb was somewhat dense and it had some issues cooking all the way through (this may be that it the dough was pretty cold when it went in as my house is on the cold side). In comes the Crusty Sandwich Bread. I LOVE this bread. The flavor is great and the crumb is light and fluffy. My husband liked it better stating that he found it easier to cut small slices for sandwiches. The boule turned out well as far as texture and taste, but the loaf spread quite a bit. This could have been from resting for too long or that more flour needed to be dusted onto the loaf.

I enjoyed cooking from this book and hope to try more recipes from it after getting a copy for myself.

Booking It 2011 - Sacred Influence

This month I read Sacred Influence by Gary Thomas. I have read a couple of Gary's other books and must say that as convicting as this book was, I really enjoyed it. The book is a man's perspective on how a woman can best serve her husband. The most interesting point that he made was that a woman should give up some of the things that she wants in order to best serve her husband and her family. I find this point interesting because it is completely counter-cultural. The book also suggests that women ask their husbands how they can better serve them by asking "What would like me to do that I am not doing?" The question gives better insight into how what our specific husband wants us to do.

This book was very convicting in that this is not how I have approached my marriage over the last 4 years. It gave me a new way to approach my husband, how to approach my marriage, and how to serve God through all of this.