100 Bible Stories, 100 Bible Songs is a children’s Bible story book, that includes two CDs, each with 50 songs for children. The book is divided into two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. Each story is approximately one page long, beginning with a Bible verse. Following each story, there are some short comments, summarizing what God did in the story and how the reader can obey God. Cute color pictures help to illustrate each story.

The two CDs are filled with short Biblical songs that are easy for children to sing along to.

This is the first children’s book I have reviewed. I used this as a devotional book for my 4 year old son. The stories are short and he had no problem being attentive. I really liked the summary statements after each story. It seems beneficial to bring it all together, to help children understand what they just heard.

The book is hard cover and is good quality. The illustration was well done, colorful and catching the attention of children. The stories were simplified versions of Bible stories. The stories stayed in line with what is in the Bible, just making it easier for children to understand. I recommend this book to parents with young children, probably around age five and under.

Offworld, written by Robin Parrish, is an intriguing story released this summer. This is Parrish’s fourth book, but first stand alone novel, and yes, it can stand alone. Although I would be interested in knowing what happens to the main characters after this book ends…

I chose to begin reading this novel blindly, not reading any reviews or even the back cover. I wanted to be surprised as I read the story, trying to figure out what I thought would happen, instead of waiting for what I knew would occur, had I read more about the plot. For this reason, I will not go into much detail about the storyline, in case you choose to do the same.

Four astronauts are on their way back to earth after a significant mission on Mars. The story is about their trip back, as well as the arrival back on earth, a land greatly altered since they had left years before.

The characters are interesting and relatable, and the reader gets to know all of the main characters fairly well, which I found helpful and unique. Many books typically concentrate on a main character and do not allow you to get to know the other characters as well.

This book is one of my favorites for this year. It was well written, easy to visualize, exciting, and a fast read. Whether you are looking for a book to read or not, pick up a copy of Offworld, published by Bethany House Publishers, you will be happy you did.

My apologies for not posting any new posts last week. This summer has been busy and it’s probably pretty obvious that I have not been taking the time to post regularly for most of the summer. For now, I will post when I feel there is something I really want to share. I am contemplating ending my posts on this blog and possibly starting a new blog that would encompass more of what I am interested in now – eating well, recipes, local food, books, reading, etc. Saving money is still very important to me, but my thoughts have shifted quite a bit from when I first began this blog and not sure the title is completely accurate right now.

So for now, please bear with me as I decide what I want to do, as well as the not so regular posts. Thanks!

I am new to the clothesline side of drying laundry. (we recently installed retractable clothesline) So perhaps this is obvious and/or something that everyone does, but I would like to suggest that when you hang up clothes, hang pairs of things together, such as socks. When I take the socks off the line, I fold them and drop them into the basket.
I had thought of also folding items as I remove them from the line, but haven’t gotten that far yet. I’ll need to be more organized when hanging the items up in order for this to work well.

Do you have other clothesline tips?

Read more tips at BlogMommas.com.

Job/Career
15 Things to do to Make Jumping into Freelancing Self-Employment Financially Successful at TheSimpleDollar.com

Unique Ways to Supplement Income at BlissTree.com/thriftymommy

480 Ways to Make More Money Today at TheSimpleDollar.com

How to Become a Mystery Shopper at MSN.com

Cleaning
Homemade All Natural Dishwasher Detergent at PassionateHomemaking.com

5 Reasons to Line Dry Your Laundry at SimpleMom.net

Frugal Bath Cleaner at TheSimpleWife.typepad.com/TheSimpleWife

Liquid Laundry Detergent Recipe at FrugalVeggieMama.blogspot.com

Green
Eco-Friendly Website Highlight: EWG and SafeMamma at BeCentsAble.com.blogspot.com

How to Compost Without Raising a Stink at Squawkfox.com (thanks to Almost Frugal for posting this link)

Money
Nine Reasons I Keep Reading Personal Finance Books TheSimpleDollar.com

The Total Money Makeover: Save $1000 Fast TheSimpleDollar.com

10 Ways You Can Prevent Over Spending at SimpleMom.net

Reducing Your Expenses at AlmostFrugal.com

Avoid Spending Is Not the Same as Saving Money at TheSimpleDollar.com

The Total Money Makeover Debt Myths at TheSimpleDollar.com

Free
Free Summer 2009 iTunes Mix at SisterlySavings.net

Home
7 Ways to Find Motivation at Home SimpleMom.net

Personal
Character Matters at BeingFrugal.net

The Clutter You Can’t See at SimpleMom.net

10 Tips for Looking Your Best, Part 2 at SimpleMom.net

Marriage/Family/Kids
The Creative Family: Encouraging Simplicity & Creativity in Your Home at PassionateHomemaking.com

An Aged Based Plan for Teaching Kids About Money at FrugalDad.com

10 Ideas for Raising Greener Kids at SimpleMom.net

Building Our Marriage at PassionateHomemaking.com

Hobby/Craft
Can You Live Off Your Hobbies at BlissTree.com/thriftymommy

Appliqued Onesies at VanillaJoy.com

Miscellaneous
FactsAboutEthanol.org

Healthcare Reform Wants Elderly to Die With Dignity IowaGeekOnline.com

How to Support an Unemployed Friend at GatherLittleByLittle.com

Use the Good Stuff at SimpleMom.net

Protect Your House While You’re On Vacation at BeingFrugal.net

Car Maintenance Tips at FrugalDad.com

Make Your Own Insect Repellent at LittleHouseInTheSuburbs.com (thanks to Almost Frugal for posting this link)

A Depression Might Force Us Back to the Basics at GatherLittleByLittle.com

Learning to Use Less Electricity at Proverbs31Living.blogspot.com (thanks to Keeper of the Home for posting this link)

Gardening
Natural Weed Killer at KeeperOfTheHome.org

Buying Seeds for Your Garden at KeeperOfTheHome.org

Container Gardening: My Favorite Resources at PassionateHomemaking.com

Is Agave Nectar Good for You/Should I Soak My Grains – A Bit of Controversy at HeavenlyHomemakers.com

5 Ways to Eat Local Beyond the Farmers’ Market at EatingWell.com

Healthy Food Guide: Watermelon at EatingWell.com

Pennywise Platter Thursday at TheNourishingGourmet.com

Back to the Basics: 10 Recommended Kitchen Items for the Home Cook at SimpleMom.net

Easy Cupcake Decorating: Spin Art at ManyLittleBlessings.net

Dijon Chicken Sandwiches at PassionateHomemaking.com

Preserving Summer’s Bounty: Drying and Grinding Spices at KeeperOfTheHome.org

Cheap Meal Inspiration on the Food Network at SenseToSave.com

Grocery Budget Discussion: Expense or Investment? at KeeperOfTheHome.org

8 Things to do with Cherry Tomatoes at ChefMom.SheKnows.com

What’s the most serious book you’ve read recently?
(I figure it’s easier than asking your most serious book ever, because, well, it’s recent!)

There are actually two recent serious books I’ve read that I would like to share Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv and The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway.

I finished Last Child in the Woods this week and want to write a review for it soon. I had hoped to have one finished by today, but today is almost over and I didn’t even start to write a review…maybe next Thursday. Briefly, it was an interesting read and a book that I think everyone should read.

The Cellist of Sarajevo was given to me by a friend earlier this year. I don’t think I had heard of the book before I received it. I loved the cover, so I knew I’d have to read the book sooner than later. And the fact that cellist was in the title certainly helped – I played the cello in high school and would really like to get one someday and re-learn what I have forgotten…Although a sombering book, I am glad I read it. It is a work of fiction, based on factual events. It’s a good story, and is short, so if you are looking for a faster read, give it a try.

Read more responses to this question at Booking Through Thursday.

When our bath towels become worn out or stained, we stop using them as towels and add them to the old towel stack in the bathroom closet. They come in handy to dry off the dog after his bath, wipe up spills in the bathroom or kitchen, and also rags. Our dishwasher has overflowed twice, and both times, I used tons of our old towels. I was so glad I kept them. Kitchen towels are best used as rags for cleaning, since they are smaller. There is a plastic container on top of our dryer that I put all dirty rags into, and then wash them all together, since I don’t want them contaminating our clothes.

Read more suggestions at WeAreThatFAMILY.com.

Our puppy is now over 1 year old. I still call him a puppy because he still acts like one. We’ve been feeding him Iams dog food, since that was one of the recommended brands from our vet. It seems that more recently that he doesn’t really like his food as much as he used to. Whenever we visit my parents house, we take our dog and he just about always eats all of the dog food they have out, which is the Kirkland brand. Even though we have not weighed Sebastian recently, we don’t think he’s gained much weight for several months. He obviously isn’t growing like he did during his first year, but we think he should be gaining more weight than he has been.

My husband started researching dog food online, to see how Iams compared to other brands and what other brands are available for a large breed. I think he first checked into Kirkland, which we know he likes, but whenever we have been to Costco, we have checked and they do not carry a large breed dog food, which think is important to get for our dog. Kirkland brand is actually made by Diamond. After further research, Diamond is rated higher than Iams and a local animal store carries a large breed Diamond naturals dog food, and it’s over $10 cheaper per bag.

We were very excited to find a dog food that sounds healthier for our dog, as well as cheaper, and we are able to support a locally owned business. It was definitely worth my husbands time to research this information out. Perhaps every once in a while you might want to research various products, just to see if you can get something better for cheaper, and maybe even local!

Read more tips at BlogMommas.com.

Today through August 5, you can download Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann for free at Oprah.com.