Friday, February 27, 2015

Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon Book Review

I realized that I missed a book in the series of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency so I went back and put it on reserve at the library.  The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon: No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (14)
by Alexander McCall Smith was another great book in the series.  If you haven't tried this series, you should really check it out.  I think that it is fun and entertaining to see all of the problems that the ladies get involved in. This book was no different!!


Precious Ramotswe has her hands full with two puzzling cases. The first is a young man hoping to claim his inheritance at his uncle’s farm. The farmer’s lawyer fears that this self-professed nephew may be falsely impersonating the real heir, and asks Mma Ramotswe to look into his identity. The second involves the newly opened Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon, which has been shadowed by misfortune, from bad omens in the mail to swirling rumors that its services are dangerous. The salon’s proprietor fears that someone is trying to put her out of business and it is the detective's jobs to figure out who. Meanwhile, Mma Ramotswe has come to suspect that her intrepid associate Grace Makutsi is pregnant—though Mma Makutsi has mentioned nothing.  She tries to figure out how to bring up the subject without sounding totally rude and decides not to mention it.  Pick up this book to find out what happens in this installment from the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.


I love the characters and the stories that Alexander McCall Smith comes up with because they are always new and different but sometimes the same.  Because of the great writing, you never feel like you are reading the same book.  This book is the 14th in the series and it is just as great as the first...maybe even better because you are pulling for your favorite characters to have good things happen.  I was sad to learn that I missed it and went on to read the book after this first but glad that I could go back and find out what I missed.  I hope that you check out this book and series for yourself!  I promise that you won't be disappointed!!

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Rose Harbor in Bloom Book Review

I got Rose Harbor in Bloom: A Novel by Debbie Macomber when I picked up my reserves at the library.  I did get too many at the same time again so it sat in the pile of the side table until I got a chance to read it but I was happy when I finally did.  I love the writing in the books from Debbie Macomber.  I enjoy the characters and the way the stories unfold and this was no different!!  You really feel a part of the small town when you are sitting down to read this novel.



Since moving to Cedar Cove, Jo Marie Rose has truly started to feel at home, and her neighbors have become her closest friends. Now it’s springtime, and Jo Marie is eager to finish the most recent addition to her inn. In memory of her late husband, Paul, she has designed a beautiful rose garden for the property and enlisted handyman Mark Taylor to help realize it. She and Mark don’t always see eye-to-eye—and at times he seems far removed—yet deep down, Jo Marie finds great comfort in his company. And while she still seeks a sense of closure, she welcomes her latest guests, who are on their own healing journeys.

Annie Newton arrives in town to orchestrate her grandparents’ fiftieth wedding anniversary celebration. While Annie is excited for the festivities, she’s struggling to move on from her broken engagement, and her grandparents themselves seem to be having trouble getting along. Worse, Annie is forced to see Oliver Sutton, with whom she grew up and who has always mercilessly teased her. But the best parties end with a surprise, and Annie is in for the biggest one of all.

High-powered businesswoman Mary Smith, another Rose Harbor Inn guest, has achieved incredible success in her field, yet serious illness has led her to face her sole, lingering regret. Almost nineteen years ago, she ended her relationship with her true love, George Hudson, and now she’s returned to Cedar Cove to make amends.  Compassion and joy await Jo Marie, Annie, and Mary as they make peace with their pasts and look boldly toward their futures.


I enjoyed the book and was glad that I already had the next book in the series in order to keep reading about the great inn and characters in the small West Coast town.  The greatest part about this series is that I have already read the books in the Cedar Cover series so I love the town and all of the people living there so this is just like an added bonus to get to know more about visitors to the small town.  I hope that you pick up this book at your local library or bookstore and enjoy it as much as I did.  Remember that it is the second book in the series so if you want to get the background, make sure you pick up the first book to start before this one!!  I hope that you enjoy the great book and characters as much as I did!!

Monday, February 23, 2015

Menu Plan Monday 2/23



Monday- Chicken Wraps with homemade fries
Tuesday- French Dip Sloppy Joes with chicken rice
Wednesday- Pizza bites with sausage and pepperoni
Thursday- Breakfast for Dinner
Friday- Olive Oil Pasta with sliced sausages and garlic bread
Saturday- Leftovers/ Tacos
Sunday- Leftovers/ Buffalo Chicken Salad

The end of the month already!!!  I am super glad to see the end of the month but I know that means that I have to defrost my freezer soon (either this week or next).  We have barely any food left in the freezer so I know that it won't be too much trouble.  I am going to turn most of my bread cubes into bread crumbs so that they take up less room and they really don't have to be frozen while we are moving the freezers.  I am going to try to use up the rest of the stuff in there this week so here is what we have left:

brown rice (3)
cous cous (1)
pizza sauce(2)
cheese ravioli (1)
chicken sausage (1 package- 4)
brats (1 packaage- 6 brats)
hamburgers (4)
sausage crumbles (1 bag)
spicy pulled pork (1)
margarine (6)
homemade spaghetti sauce (3)
popcorn (1)
ripe bananas (6)

Things I know that I am not going to use up:

chicken broth
Ham steaks (12)
Flour tortilla (7 packages)
blueberries
oats
masa corn flour
bread cubes and bread crumbs

I know that I will not be using up the chicken broth because most of the top shelf is full with it.  I think that I will be trying to shove all of the things that I don't use in the upstairs freezer until the freezer gets up and running at the new house and then taking over a big load of stuff to put in the freezer.  I am going to make bread crumbs to decrease the size of the bread population but there is some serious creativity that I need to come up with to make some of the rest of the food go to good use.  We have two loaves of banana bread in our near future.  YUM!!!!  I hope that you have a good week and a tasty one!!

Saturday, February 21, 2015

An Angel for Dry Creek and A Gentleman for Dry Creek Book Review


An Angel for Dry Creek / A Gentleman for Dry Creek (Love Inspired Classics) by Janet Tronstad was the first book in the series and it was a two for one book.  It included what used to be the first two books.  The great thing about the books was that they overlapped in the characters and the time that it was covering.  It was great that they combined these books into one great big book.  The cover says 2 novels with 1 great price so I assume that the used to be two different books before but they can only be purchased separately for the kindle currently.




The first book was An Angel for Dry Creek had police sketch artist, Glory Beckett, stumble into cynical Matthew Curtis's life in tiny Dry Creek, MT. Amazed, Matthew's twin boys soon convince the whole town that Glory really is a Christmas angel sent just for them and maybe for their stubborn father, who lost his faith and his ministry after his wife died. As Glory unites the town with Christmas spirit, Matthew faces his fears of losing her to an anonymous hit man. And it looked as if it would take a miracle to convince anyone in town that she wasn't the least bit celestial, let alone that her presence in Dry Creek might even put them all in danger!



In the second book, Garth Elkton had found Sylvia Bannister's car in a ditch and rescued her from the freezing weather. And when she'd fled like Cinderella, leaving an earring behind, he'd tracked her down to return it--only to save her a second time! Yet despite his heroic efforts, Sylvia wasn't treating him like her knight in shining armor. For an abusive marriage had made Sylvia wary of all men. So when the troubled teens in her church-sponsored youth center needed a camp retreat, he volunteered his ranch. And set out to prove to Sylvia that he was a gentleman to be trusted.

I know that you have to pick up this book to see how the two stories overlap but it is great when you can see the same characters interacting with the small town from their own perspective.  I thought the books were super entertaining.  I wouldn't put these up there as great literature but I was entertained and loved the characters and the quaint small town.  I hope that you check out the book and let me know what you think.  I think that we would all love to find ourselves in a great small town like this one with even with the challenges that the characters have to overcome.  I hope you agree after reading them too!!

Friday, February 20, 2015

Snowbound in Dry Creek Book Review

I wanted to read a few of the books by Janet Tronstad so I grabbed the only three at the branch of the library so that I didn't have to wait for the reserve process.  Not that it is really long but I wanted to read something quick and fun.  I got Snowbound in Dry Creek (Dry Creek Series #14) (Love Inspired #465) by Janet Tronstad. 

Rodeo champion Zach "Lightning" Lucas grumpily agrees to a Christmas Eve deal: put on a Santa suit and deliver gifts to a widowed mother. That done, he can finally leave Dry Creek, Montana, in his dust. Well, except for the small stowaway in his truck: Jenny Collins's grief-stricken little daughter. Like Zach, the girl doesn't believe in much of anything anymore. He brings her home just in time for a blizzard to strand him in lovely Jenny's barn. Where he unexpectedly helps a family—and himself—find the meaning of Christmas.

This is a heart warming story of making the most of being stuck in the snow storm away from home.  I was tied to this book and had trouble putting it down because it was such a great story.  How they make the most of Christmas is a great story for all to learn from because family togetherness is the best part and not expensive presents.  If you are missing the holiday season, this might be a great book for you to pick up or if you are getting the horrible cold weather, you might at least relate.  I hope that you enjoy this story as much as I did when you check it out at your local library or bookstore.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Wife Wanted in Dry Creek Book Review

The next book in the pile to review was Wife Wanted in Dry Creek (Love Inspired) by Janet Tronstad which was a strange title but I went with it because I was interested in finding out what it was about.  Are you intrigued? I was and I wasn't disappointed!!



Thanks to his uncle posting a prayer request in the church bulletin, all of Dry Creek, Montana, thinks Conrad Nelson wants a wife. A busy mechanic, Conrad is doing just fine on his own. But then the very woman he described as the perfect wife drives into his life. Katrina Britton is in town only temporarily to care for her young nephews--and the worry in her pretty green eyes has him keeping his distance. Until even Dry Creek's confirmed bachelor realizes they're each other's answered prayers.  Pick up this book and find out what happens.

I thought that this one was a strange title.  If it was the first book in the series, I probably wouldn't have picked it off the shelf.  Since I had already read lots of her books, I never thought twice about it.  The town was looking for a wife for Conrad and they all prayed to find one so they decided that the nice woman who came into town must be the one that they were praying for.  I really enjoyed watching this relationship unfold!  I hope that you check out this book at your local library or bookstore and see it for yourself!

Monday, February 16, 2015

Menu Plan Monday 2/16



Monday- Take Out- Either Pizza or Chinese
Tuesday- ??
Wednesday- Breakfast for Dinner- Waffles, Pancakes and Eggs
Thursday- Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes
Friday- Olive Oil Pasta with garlic bread or peasant bread
Saturday- Leftovers/??
Sunday- Leftovers/??

Well, we are officially down to no food in the house and I really need to take some time to go grocery shopping.  I am trying to come up with some fun things to serve this week but there are lots of small things left and not a lot that make with what is left.  I bought lots of eggs so we are going to have breakfast for dinner with waffles, pancakes and eggs.  We have three potatoes and one bag of chicken tenders so I am going to make some rosemary chicken and potatoes.  Plenty of pasta left in the cupboard so we will be having that with some of the bread crusts from the freezer to make garlic bread.    After that, the rest of the week is kind of up in the air based on when I make it to the store and what deals I get.  I hope that you have a good week and a tasty one!!  I guess one more trip through the freezer might help come up with our tasty week or else I am going to be extra busy with shopping.

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Silent Night in Dry Creek Book Review

I got started on a new author and so I picked up everything that was at the library so that I could read it without waiting for books to come in off hold.  I don't usually do that because I love to start from the beginning of the series and see where they start and how the characters grow but I decided to be crazy and grab a few fun quick reads because they were on the shelf and that was all I had time to get while I was at the library with my son.  Silent Night in Dry Creek (Love Inspired) by Janet Tronstad was one of the books that I read.   I had a pile of three books that I read really quickly so to be honest, I am not sure which one I read first but this was one of the three (other reviews coming soon).



For private investigator Wade Sutton, the town holds too many memories--none of them fond-- of his childhood. Yet he can't say no when the sheriff asks him to secretly watch over a woman who might be in danger. "Helping" lovely Jasmine Hunter with the church's Christmas celebration does more for his bruised heart than he wants to admit. As does being back on his family's farm. But he can't stay in Dry Creek. Unless...Jasmine gives him a reason to call it home.  You have to pick it up and find out what happens!!

I really enjoyed the book and read it so fast that it might have been less than 24 hours.  I know that I have given up some sleep just to read a few more pages but it was worth it.  I enjoyed seeing Wade quickly see that he might have turned his back on the town of his childhood but they didn't turn their backs on him.  The characters and the holiday story is perfect.  I enjoyed the book and I know you will to.  Check this out the next time you are at your local library or bookstore.  I hope that you enjoy the book and series as much as I have so far!  These fast reads that are perfect to take on the road if they last that long!!

Friday, February 13, 2015

January Reading Review

I started off the year trying to get organized and decide what I was going to read but this month was anything but because I was also trying to get all of the library books back to the library and not have a lot around the house while everything was pulled apart and we were trying to pack things away.  This is both good and bad because it is hard to keep track of all of those library books because the area to have my son's library books is now at the new house so we have to figure out a new location to keep them without misplacing them in the already mixed up house and it makes sure that I don't have any overdue books without me having to worry.  The bad part is that I love library books.

Here is a list of all of the books that I read this month.  If you missed the original review, make sure you click on the title and it will take you back to the original post.  That way you can find out if you want to add it to your list of books to read.  I keep a private list on amazon with all of the books that I want to read so I know what I still have left to read and I don't forget any so I have included a link to Amazon if you want to add the book to your reading list too!!  Hope you enjoy some of these books and let me know if you have any recommendations of books to add going forward to my list!!


by Bea Johnson



by Veronica Roth



by Mary Weaver


by Cathy Elliott


by William Alexander



by Alexander McCall Smith


by Janet Tronstad


by Sherryl Woods



by Debbie Macomber





Total Books Read

January           9

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

The Inn at Rose Harbor Book Review

I was excited to get to start a new series by Debbie Macomber after finishing the last one so long ago.  The Inn at Rose Harbor: A Novel by Debbie Macomber was the first in the Rose Harbor series.  There is supposed to be a a mini book of "When First They Met" inside some of the copies of this book but it wasn't inside mine so I guess I have to go searching for the e-book version.  I am much better when I have the actual book in my hand to read a book but if it is the only way that I can read the prequel then I better at least try.



Jo Marie Rose first arrives in Cedar Cove seeking a fresh start. A young widow coping with the death of her husband, she purchases a local bed-and-breakfast—the newly renamed Rose Harbor Inn—ready to begin her life anew. Her first guest is Joshua Weaver, who has come home to care for his ailing stepfather. The two have never seen eye to eye, and Joshua has little hope that they can reconcile their differences. Jo Marie’s other guest is Abby Kincaid, who has returned to Cedar Cove to attend her brother’s wedding. Back for the first time in twenty years, she almost wishes she hadn’t come, the picturesque town harboring painful memories. And as Abby and Joshua try to heal from their pasts, and Jo Marie dreams of the possibilities before her, they all realize that life moves in only one direction—forward.

I enjoyed the book and had trouble putting it down.  With all of these books that were hard to put down all in a row, I haven't gotten a lot done around the house.  I have a lot of other things to do but it is nice to escape to a different world for a little bit through reading a book but then I have to come back to a reality that wonders why I didn't get those two loads of laundry done.  The story was both happy and sad (get a few tissues because you will need them).  All three of the main characters are dealing with losing people and moving on with their lives.  As with all Debbie Macomber books, the writing is great and makes you feel like you are in the middle of the small town.  I really enjoyed the book and can't wait for the others in the series!!  I hope that you check them out at your local library or bookstore and see what you think!

Monday, February 9, 2015

Menu Plan Monday 2/9






Monday- Salsa Sloppy Joes with homemade rolls and mac and cheese
Tuesday- Breakfast for Dinner and leftovers
Wednesday- ?
Thursday- Herb Roasted Chicken with homemade stuffing and corn
Friday- Tacos with Saffron Rice
Saturday- Turkey and Saffron Rice Soup/Olive Oil Pasta with garlic bread
Sunday- Leftovers/???

We are having a busy week with construction starting on the new house which should hopefully free up a little more time because things are moving forward finally.  We were working on doing all of the demolition so after we did that and a few small fixes, we are excited to try to get some help to move complete some tile work.  We might be eating leftovers to clear out the fridge or something easy to get ready for visitors.  We have family coming into town and are trying to use the last of the freezer up so that I can defrost it soon.  Wish me luck!!!!  I hope that you have a good week and a tasty one!!

Saturday, February 7, 2015

Amazing Gracie Book Review

I was still out of library books to read and I finally resorted to reading the books on my shelf.  I have been trying hard to do that for at least the past three years but I always end up back at the library reading their books.  I grabbed Amazing Gracie by Sherryl Woods which I am not sure even how I got it but it was there waiting for another lighthearted and lightweight paperback read so that I could carry it around in my bag.  Well, it didn't last long enough for me to carry it much of anywhere because I read it in less than 24 hours!



Gracie MacDougal quits her job in France running a high end hotel and realizes that she has no where to go.  She returns to Seagull Point, Virginia, where her family had their only vacation as a child.  The picturesque town calls to her, as does the waterfront Victorian house she envisions as the perfect bed-and-breakfast.  Kevin Daniels, the person managing the Victorian, isn't interested in selling Gracie's dream house. The two become friends because Kevin decides that it is his job to entice the uptight businesswoman into learning to relax.  He already has way too many people depending on him, and has no intention of adding one more.  In order to find out if their friendship lasts, you have to read the book and find out.

I really like the way that Sherryl Woods writes because you are in the middle of the books feeling like all of these characters are family or friends.  The other great part is that it keeps you so involved that you can't put the book down!!  The great writing keeps the book moving so there is never a slow part to put the book down.  There are multiple relationships going on even though most of the book is about Gracie or Kevin, there are cousins, aunts, and neighbors that you enjoy meeting.  I hope to meet these characters in another one of her books soon and can't wait to pick up another one of her series soon.  I hope that you check it out at your local library or bookstore and enjoy it as much as I did.

Friday, February 6, 2015

$64 Tomato Book Review

The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden by William Alexander was on my list for a long time.  I read another book (52 Loaves) by the same author which I loved his writing style so this was on my list to check out.  I am glad that I finally got it off my reserve list at the library and got a chance to read it.  I almost forgot why it was on my list but I realized it as soon as I read the first page.





Bill Alexander had no idea that his simple dream of having a vegetable garden and small orchard in his backyard would lead him into life-and-death battles with groundhogs, webworms, weeds, and weather; midnight expeditions in the dead of winter to dig up fresh thyme; and skirmishes with neighbors who feed the vermin (i.e., deer). Not to mention the vacations that had to be planned around the harvest, the near electrocution of the tree man, the limitations of his own middle-aged body, and the pity of his wife and kids. When Alexander runs (just for fun!) a costbenefit analysis, adding up everything from the live animal trap to the Velcro tomato wraps and then amortizing it over the life of his garden, it comes as quite a shock to learn that it cost him a staggering $64 to grow each one of his beloved Brandywine tomatoes. But as any gardener will tell you, you can't put a price on the unparalleled pleasures of providing fresh food for your family.

I loved the writing and the funny stories.  It is amazing how the author works the stories of his everyday life into the story of gardening.  There are stories about his house, kids and wife as well as job and other things outside the house like interaction with the employees at local garden store.  Every time he gets into another situation, you are waiting to find out what is going to happen because it is never what is expected.  Can it be said that there is part mystery in the way that he writes because you are waiting to find out what is destroying his sod and how is he going to find out before the sod dies.  It is amusing and funny and I can't wait to check out other books by this author because all his adventures are filled with great stories.  His writing makes you feel like you know his family and might even be one of his friends listening to his stories.  I hope that you pick this up at your local library or bookstore and check it out for yourself!!  Let me know what you think!!

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Thrifty Weekend

I had big plans for the weekend on what we were going to get done but as usual, it was way too short and I was exhausted from a long week.  I was able to start a little early since it was a teacher workday and student holiday on Friday.  My son and I returned books due at the library and got out new books for both of us.  I have been reading so many but only got a chance to grab one on reserve and three from the front of the library before he was ready to go.

On Saturday, I don't think that I got a lot done but my husband finished putting together the last of the two piece molding in the house that we are getting ready to sell and spackled, sanded and primed around the new light fixture that he put up because I put the old one in the new house.  I know it is a lot of work just to take the light fixture with me but I like it and I just took one that I didn't like as much and put it in the old house but it still goes really well in the room.  He also changed out the really expensive dimmer switches that we had in the bedrooms upstairs with normal light switches so that we can put them in the bedrooms at the new house.  Because he can do all of these great things, we saved lots of money.

I was determined to make Sunday a really productive day so I started with a fresh pot of iced tea to make sure that I had enough caffeine to make it through the day.  I started by cleaning up the whole kitchen because it was a mess.  I filled and ran the dishwasher and cleaned all the counters.  It is sad when I do that just to make an even bigger mess with everything that I have planned but I guess that is what happens.

I made chicken broth from some frozen veggies and the chicken that I made the previous night for dinner.  I normally strain all of the veggies and other things out and refrigerate overnight.  I scrape the grease off the top of the broth and strain again to put into containers.  I freeze the containers to use later in soup or other recipes.



I cooked ground beef for French Dip Sloppy Joes this week and made Salsa Sloppy Joes to freeze with the rest.  I took the other two bags of uncooked ground beef and put them in the freezer too.  We are ready for a few weeks of meals with the ground beef that I bought at the end of January.


We were all out of homemade rolls so I cooked up a batch so that we had them for the next few weeks.  I love homemade rolls and they are so good fresh out of the oven but still stay great when they are frozen.  I just pop them in the microwave and we have hot rolls for sandwiches whenever we want.



I made a big pot of brown rice to make lunch for my husband and froze three bags of rice.  I used up the rest of the chicken boullion in the spice cupboard because the chicken broth was cooking on the other burner and I didn't want to defrost any other chicken broth.  I am hoping to make a few more batches of brown rice to freeze and us up some of the large stock pile of brown rice we have because it is hard to wait the 60 minutes it sometimes takes to make it before dinner so I like to have it in easy to microwave bags.


We printed up some Valentines to use for my son for school so I cut them out and got them all ready for him to sign his name and wait for instructions.  He also made a special Valentine for both of his teachers with cutting, writing, stickers and gluing.  We are going to attach a pencil through the middle for the special present which we are going to the dollar store to buy a package tomorrow.

I went online and reserved a few more books at the library so that I will be all set to get some fun new books when I am done reading the few left in my pile.  I didn't make it to the library to pick up papers or return the book that I finished but I have that on my list for Monday morning before going to an appointment for more new house stuff.

In addition, I cleaned out the fridge and ran the dishwasher with all the stuff that I got out of the fridge.  I put some stuff in the freezer and other stuff went into the trash.  I emptied the dishwasher and filled it up again.  Lots more dishes washed from the mess that I made with all my cooking.  I also got a load of darks and whites done this weekend and hoping to wash coats tonight (or tomorrow if there isn't enough time to dry).

I worked on the meal plan for the coming week which always saves time and money to let me know what we need at the store and what we have ready to eat for the week.  For dinner one night, I cut up some homemade fries to put with every ones dinner which was a yummy treat.  There are always a bunch of things that you can do to make your weekend frugal and prepare for the coming week at the same time.  It takes a little planning and time but I hope that you had a very frugal weekend too!!!

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

The Mystery of the Missing Lion Book Review

The book was sitting in the new release section in the kids area of the library so I grabbed it.  The Mystery of the Missing Lion: A Precious Ramotswe Mystery for Young Readers(3) by Alexander McCall Smith sounded like a good book that I would enjoy reading with my son.  I love the other books by the author so I knew that I would love the writing.  His childrens books are just as entertaining as the adult books and perfectly on track with other kids chapter books.



Young Precious gets a very special treat.  She gets a trip to visit her Aunty Bee at a safari camp.  While there she makes a new friend, a boy named Khumo, and meets an actor-lion named Teddy, who is starring in a film.  When Teddy disappears, Khumo and Precious will brave hippos and crocodiles as they search for the missing lion.

This is a great story about how Precious uses her detective skills to help the adults realize what they are doing wrong.  It is a great story with the tilt towards what kids want to hear!  I read it with my son and we both enjoyed the book and reading it together.  The books pictures, although only in red, gray and black, were very vivid and reminded me of African artwork instead of graphics in a normal book.  My son told me that we didn't have to read the educational part after the book because he didn't ever plan on going to Africa so he didn't need to know about it.  I told him that we learn to read about things and we don't have to go there to appreciate the information about the country.  He agreed but I think he just wanted to make sure that we didn't have to read it again to make sure he remembered all of the details.  In the back of the book, there is also a section on pre-reading activities, discussion questions, and curriculum connections to geography, science, language arts and social studies.  It is great that there is not only a book but with just a little more effort you could work this into an curriculum that you wanted to teach your kids at any level they are currently working at.  I hope that you check this book out whether kid or adult and find out all the wonderful books that Alexander McCall Smith has for kids and adults alike!!!!

Monday, February 2, 2015

Menu Plan Monday 2/2




Monday- Breakfast for Dinner
Tuesday- French Dip Sloppy Joe with mac and cheese
Wednesday- Chicken and Rice Casserole
Thursday- Olive Oil Spaghetti with garlic bread
Friday- Tacos with saffron rice
Saturday- Leftovers/Chicken Nugget Wraps with homemade fries
Sunday- Leftovers/???

After cooking and preparing things over the weekend, I thought that I would be ready for the coming weeks meals but I still didn't have a clue what I was going to make.  I looked in the freezer and saw that we had one package of chicken and two packages of ground beef.  There was still one whole chicken left but I was hoping to save that for the following week to put a little break between cooking chickens.  I went through the fridge and freezer list and came up with a list to get us through the week.  I still need to plan for next week and see what other inspirations strike!!  I hope that you have a great week and enjoy your meals!!