Moonlight School Book Review

 I thought the cover of this book was interesting and I knew nothing about the story.  I have been working with my son to try to infer a few things from the title and cover of the book to guess about the book.  It looks a lot like someone in the olden days walking with a gas lantern at night.  It reminds me of the Underground Railroad pictures but still looks a little different. I was interested to read the book and enjoy the great story in Moonlight School by Suzanne Woods Fisher.

 

 

Haunted by her sister's mysterious disappearance, Lucy Wilson arrives in Rowan County, Kentucky, in the spring of 1911 to work for Cora Wilson Stewart, superintendent of education. When Cora sends Lucy into the hills to act as scribe for the mountain people, she is repelled by the primitive conditions and intellectual poverty she encounters. Few adults can read and write.

Born in those hills, Cora knows the plague of illiteracy. So does Brother Wyatt, a singing schoolmaster who travels through the hills. Involving Lucy and Wyatt, Cora hatches a plan to open the schoolhouses to adults on moonlit nights. The best way to combat poverty, she believes, is to eliminate illiteracy. But will the people come?

As Lucy emerges from a life in the shadows, she finds purpose; or maybe purpose finds her. With purpose comes answers to her questions, and something else she hadn't expected: love.

Inspired by the true events of the Moonlight Schools, this standalone novel from bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher brings to life the story that shocked the nation into taking adult literacy seriously. You'll finish the last page of this enthralling story with deep gratitude for the gift of reading.

 I love this author and was excited to read this new book.  It was a historical book which isn't always my favorite books because it takes me longer to get into the story. The beginning of the book starts with the language that is spoken to try to make things a little easier to understand.  Although I have a hard time just remembering those things so I just use it as a reference in case I don't understand.  Normally there is a enough context to figure it out.  I thought it was a great story once I get into the book and interested that is based on a true story.  I had never heard of anything like this so I thought it was heartwarming and interesting. I know that once you pick up the book that you will be hoping that Lucy, Wyatt and Cora get all of the things that they deserve. I hope that you check it out and enjoy it for yourself. 

**I received a copy of this book to read for my review but all opinions here are my own and I was not required to have a positive review.

Menu Plan Monday 2/22

 

 

Lasagna (Penne for my son) with garlic bread

Ground Beef Tacos with corn bread

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and mac and cheese and tater tots and circle fries

Chili with corn bread (from freezer)

Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni, Garlic Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Pizza Knuckle Roll Ups)

Breakfast for Dinner or Leftovers

Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade French Fries

 

I totally thought that last weeks menu plan got posted but it never did so I posted it on Sunday before I posted this one.  I made two changes to last weeks menu plan before I started but we decided to go with Spicy Brown Stir Fry with Jasmine Rice (which was on this weeks plan) instead of the chicken tacos on Tuesday because I didn't have the time to make the meal that I was planning which was going to be enchiladas with the chicken and the enchilada sauce that I froze. We decided that it was a long week and we celebrated with Pizza Hut take out on Friday instead of making homemade pizza.  It was a nice break to get to not cook. 

This week I was looking to finish out the week while planning for the upcoming month.  I was excited to clean out the freezer a little more and I got the lasagna that was in the freezer out so that we could have it. I also got to use the chili out of the freezer.  There are both some favorite cold weather foods and the months are coming quickly where we will want some warm weather foods soon. I am also hoping that I can rearrange frozen food so that we can defrost it but I don't know if I am setting my hopes too high.  We have a lot of things in the freezer including lots of chicken broth and a whole turkey. I hope that I can do it with the help of a cooler and my two fridge freezers. Stay tuned and cross your fingers for me!! We are out of most of our monthly shopping items so this is the best time to make the best attempt at it before I go back to the store and pack up the fridge, freezers and pantry.

Menu Plan Monday 2/15

 

 

Pasta with garlic bread

Cheesy Chicken Taco with White Rice

Salsa Sloppy Joes and mac and cheese and tater tots and circle fries

Chicken and Rice Casserole

Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni, Garlic Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Pizza Knuckle Roll Ups)

Fried Rice with Egg Rolls

Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade French Fries

 

Menu Plan Monday 2/8

 

 

Pasta with garlic bread and pizza knots

Spicy Sweet and Sour Chicken with White Rice

Chicken Paninis and mac and cheese and tater tots and circle fries

Rosemary Chicken with Potatoes

Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni, Garlic Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Pizza Knuckle Roll Ups)

Whole Chicken with mashed potatoes and Cheesy Bacon Bread

Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade French Fries

Last week was mostly according to plan except I didn't take out the whole chicken so that was a little issue so I decided that we were going to have this weeks meal of Grilled Steak with twice baked potato which was amazing.  We took the grilling opportunity to make some grilled chicken to dice and put in the freezer because we missed having that to throw into fried rice and pizzas. Diced up two ham steaks and put into a few containers in the freezer.  Cooked up shredded chicken into tacos which I used to make taquitos for lunch on the weekend and froze the rest to make enchiladas next week.  Totally stocked up with diced chicken, diced ham, and shredded taco chicken ready to throw into meals. Love getting some food prepped over the weekend to make the week easier.

We had a few different leftovers so for the weekend meal we did make your own salad instead of wraps on Sunday which was amazing and filling.  I made a cutting board with sliced steak, sliced chicken, spicy chicken sliced, cubed cheese, homemade croutons, and crispy noodles. We added whatever toppings to our salad which was super tasty. Great end to our meal week and ready for another yummy week this week!!

Silver Thaw Book Review

 I got another book in this series and then knew that I needed to start at the beginning.  Silver Thaw By  Catherine Anderson is the first book in the series which seemed like the best place to start.  I just didn't know how heart wrenching a start it would be because once I started the book I couldn't put it down which meant that I got no sleep the night I started.

 

After years of living in fear of her husband, Amanda Banning has left him and moved to Mystic Creek, Oregon, for a fresh start. But she’s having a tough time providing for herself and her six-year-old daughter. Writing her secret yearnings on slips of paper and sending them into the wind helps her cling to the hope that things will get better…and that she can find happiness again.
 
Jeb Sterling has no idea that the handwritten messages he finds scattered across his land are the first hints that his life is about to change. Nor does he understand why he feels so compelled to help Amanda Banning and her daughter when a cold snap leaves them temporarily homeless. Maybe he’s inspired by Amanda’s courage or perhaps by her beautiful brown eyes. Either way, the man who once renounced love suddenly finds himself willing to do anything for the pair. Amanda seems to have given up on her dreams, but Jeb refuses to quit until he makes her every wish come true.…

This book follows Jeb Sterling who is part of a big family but now that he is turning 30 years old, he realizes that he needs to have his own family to make his life complete. Jeb is a woodworker who mainly works out of his house which means that he often doesn't see that many people.  His mom always told him that he would meet the right women when he least expected it. Amanda Banning is living in a badly maintained rental house with her daughter after leaving her abusive husband.  A horrible storm rips through the small town and the power goes out.  She is left to put her daughter under all the blankets and towels in the house to try to stay warm.  It gets so cold that pipes are freezing and Jeb comes to the door to try to help every one on the street.  He almost misses their house because there is no car but he stops because he sees footprints in the snow.  He convinces them to come and stay at his house for the sake of her daughter, she finally agrees! She starts cooking and helping out around the house and Jeb finds that he can't live without her or her daughter but Amanda is hesitant to believe.  He decides that the best course of action is to offer her a job taking care of his house. She again only agrees because it is in the best interest of her daughter. Amazing things happen and have me cheering throughout this book as well as crying because it is an emotional roller coaster. I hope that you check out this book and the rest of the series. I am on to the next book in the series now.

January Month End Grocery Shopping and Take Out Budget

 I haven't been able to post these for the last few months because my phone was a mess.  I took pictures of all of the grocery hauls but I couldn't download from my phone and I couldn't email. Everything was stuck on my phone with no way out!!  Luckily, I got a deal on a new phone so I am back up and running with my pictures for 2021. 

We normally have $160 for groceries and $40 for eating out so that we spend $200 for the month. I have maintained this budget for many years but prices are starting to get a little crazy and couponing is getting impossible.  I am still trying to shop sales and use coupons where I can to stretch our money as far as it can go. I am not sure now that we are running out of many things in the stockpile if we can continue at this budget but we are going to put in our best effort. During the pandemic, we used up most or all of our toilet paper, dishwasher detergent, cleaning supplies, and more. We still have enough trash bags for another year, tons of laundry detergent and lots of personal care products. Tons of spaghetti is left to last for ages but we are out of most other pastas. I have worked hard to make the menu with the things that I have in the house and few items from the store.

I am using everything we have and trying to get creative with what we have at the house.  I had barbecue sauce that we didn't like so I mixed it with grape jelly that we also don't like and some seasonings that we haven't been eating.  It was an amazing addition to grilled chicken sandwiches.  I dug frozen swiss cheese out to top the sandwiches which normally isn't my favorite cheese but was pretty tasty.  I have worked hard to make quick breads and muffins to have for breakfasts to stretch the cereal longer. I make a cake or cookies to have for treats during the week. I am still making our own breads, rolls, and pizza dough. We wanted a fun side dish for dinner so I quickly fixed up a baked potato from all the things we already had.  Below are all the things that I got in January to help us through the month and hopefully set us up for a good February.

Giant $0

I got a freebie added to my card so I went to the store to get that and a few other things but I rang it up by itself so that it didn't mess up the other transactions because the manager had to override.

 

Giant $10.88

I went to the store to get the deal on cereal because we were almost out.  I got two boxes of Cheerios and two boxes of Golden Grahams and there was a sale, electronic coupon and printable coupon to get these at a good price.  I got the Doritos because my son asked for them and they were on sale and it was a special birthday treat. The Children's Motrin was normally $6.99 but there was a sale, electronic coupon and printable which brought it down to $1.99.  The tissues were on clearance for $0.22 so I got what they had left on the shelf. 

Giant $6.46

I did a second transaction to try to get the cereal deal again and the Doritos. I got two boxes of Golden Grahams and two Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I got one Nacho Cheese and one Cool Ranch.  I put two boxes of tissues on this transaction at $0.22 each. I also added the Kellogg Tropical Fruit Loops because they said that they were on sale and I had a coupon....but they didn't come up on sale. This is where everything went wrong because the customer service person tried to help but the coupons were attaching to the wrong item and she would enter $1 off and then it would go up and then go back up.  The biggest problem is that to get the prices corrected, Giant enters them as a coupon instead of correcting the price because that works for other people but I always have a coupon for each item so I got some great deals but didn't get the prices that I totally should have.  I stopped because the computer was only going to get worse but I do miss my wonderful Harris Teeter employees.

Target $8.67

I went to the store to get a few birthday gifts but managed to bungle the transactions horribly!!  It was like I haven't been in the store in ages....wait, totally true.  I put the stuff up on the belt and didn't do three transactions like I was supposed to.  I was going to pay for them separately and use the cartwheel and my gift card but I checked out everything and forgot to use my gift card and had to go back to customer service.  Then I even messed it up over there more so life goes on but I got two packages of toilet paper and one tube of my son's tooth paste (not pictured) 

Lidl $41.23

I had a coupon for $10 off $50 so I went to the store to get a few things on my list but they were out of a lot of the things that I wanted. I wasn't sure if I could get to $50 but I put in my best effort and added a few extra things to the cart that we didn't really need but would last us many months. I got one apple juice and one berry juice because they were out of Cran Grape. I got three bags of their restaurant style chip and three of the bite sized rounds. I got four packages of the mint cookies which are just like girl scout cookies and only $0.97. I got the $7.49 Goldfish container as a treat for my son. I grabbed two salsas and three margarine a fillers to get to the amount I needed to spend. I got a package of bacon because there was a coupon to make it $3 so it was cheaper then the new price at Aldi. I got a package of turkey lunch meat to get my husband through the rest of January. I got one of their take and bake pizzas because there was a coupon that made it $4 but we hated it.  We tried to eat it and then ended up throwing it out.  I think that it is the first thing that we have gotten from there and not liked. I got an extra pack of special cookies for my husband which are like the Girl Scout Samoas. I got the Vanilla Wafers because everyone likes them and just added to the box until I had spent $50 which was 11 boxes.

Harris Teeter $20.42

I went to Harris Teeter because they had the 16 oz bacon packs on sale half off so I bought 8 packages because the price at Aldi went up a lot and I thought that we should stock up at $2.49. I was surprised that they still had so many left because it was the end of the sale. 

Aldi $52.41

We were totally out of milk so I was excited to see that they had it. We got 4 packages of pepperoni because we were down to the last few slices at home because they were out the previous month when I went shopping. I was almost out of cheddar cheese so I grabbed 6.  I decided we needed 6 more mozzarella to get through all of the month. I added Parmesan cheese because we were under half in our container at home. I got a bag of Aldi nuggets because we used up all the nuggets in the freezer that we have been eating for the past year. I got another bag of tater tots because we have been enjoying having them and I didn't want to run out. I got a few bananas for my husband. Grabbed a roll of sausage for spaghetti sauce and pizza bites. We were down to the end of the sugar and I had been looking for a good price but I gave up and got two because we really needed it.  I also got another vegetable shortening to fill the fryer and grease the pans. I got two jars of salsa because my husband and son decided that Lidl salsa tasted different so we were almost out of Aldi salsa. I got 6 bottles of Cran Grape because that is what the boys normally drink in a month. We also returned the chips we got last time which were a fail and got the Big Dippers as a free replacement.

Lidl $11.31

It was across the street from the Aldi so I went over to grab a few of the deals while I was out and because my son already finished the Goldfish crackers.  They were on sale for $7.49 for the big container. I also needed eggs and the prices went up at the other Lidl and Aldi so I took a chance that they would be cheaper but they were not. I grabbed an 18 count to hold us over. I decided to grab an extra ketchup because we go through them so quickly and Lidl was the runner up closest in taste to Heinz and only $1 makes it a bargin. I added a last minute oil to the cart because I had just opened one from the cupboard at home.

 

Total Retail $316.10

Total Savings $164.72

Total Rebates $1.00

Total Spent $150.38

I was excited to end the month under budget with $9.62 left in the grocery budget. I thought I was going to head out and grab another deal at the end of the month even though I had already been out enough. I think that I got a lot of great things to last us through February and now I am off to search for the next set of deals to enjoy through March. 

Eating Out or Take Out Budget

January is my son's birthday month so we have a lot of fun treats this month.  We started off the month by getting Pizza Hut for $10.60.  We got Pizza Hut on my son's birthday for $23.31 because we got lots of fun stuff that he wanted to try.  We got Dunkin Donuts on his birthday weekend for breakfast and used two gift cards so we only paid $0.80 for our six donuts. Then later in the month, we used the gift card that we won from our neighborhood light decorating contest to get Chinese food so we spent $5.20 for that we used a Book It coupon to get my son a personal pan pizza and points to get free bread sticks so that we could all enjoy a great dinner.  The spending for all of the Take out for the month was $39.91 which was just $0.09 under budget. Although this is the highest it has been in a year, we enjoyed all the celebrations and fun and stayed under budget.

The Truthworthy One Book Review

 I got The Trustworthy One (4) (Walnut Creek Series, The) by Shelley Shepard Gray off the new release section at the library while they were still open because I love everything by this author.  When I looked at the cover, it started to look familiar.  After reading the beginning, I realized that I had read a book in this series.  When I looked it up on blog, I found that I read the third book in the series and then read this one.  I am still missing the first two books in the series!!  I really need to go back and reserve them so that I can catch up.

 

 

Kendra Troyer always knew she would leave Walnut Creek the first chance she got. When she was accepted into design school, she tried her best not to look back at the four siblings she was abandoning, but ahead to Columbus, where she was determined to stay—far away from her abusive home and far away from Nate Miller, the boy she vowed to despise for the rest of her life.

Though she suffered through dark times in Columbus, Kendra found her faith in the Lord again, and years later, when she learned one of her good friends had died, she realized it was time to go home to those she left behind.

Back in Walnut Creek, Kendra has a life she never could have imagined: her own design shop, a pretty little house, and a tight-knit group of friends. After she settles down, though, unexpected visitors come knocking and dark memories begin to resurface. Complicating things even further is the ever-present Nate Miller, who now owns the hardware store two doors down and whose very presence stirs in Kendra a fierce need to turn away and hide from her past. But Nate is persistent in setting things right between them. As Kendra tries to come to terms with the anger she holds from her childhood, will she be able to open her heart to forgiveness and find the comfort she has always longed for in Walnut Creek?

This book is about Kendra Troyer who grew up in Walnut Creek but she was always on the outside.  She was busy taking care of her brothers and sisters and making sure that they got enough food and were not abused by their father. She jumped at the chance to leave and go to design school in Columbus but things don't go as planned and she decides to come home and open a store in her home town. She has to see all of the people of the town who knew her when she grew up but she makes friends with a large group of them.  Although one is still someone she holds childhood anger towards because he was mean to her and Nate happens to own the hardware store two doors down from her new store.  Nate was working hard to make up for the past and get forgiveness from Kendra for his mean and childish behavior. I thought it was an interesting book that works through past issues and moves forward into adult relationships.  The friendships and more in this small town cover Amish, Mennonite and English friends which makes it very different then other books.  I thought it was very interesting and I was pulling for Kendra to have a wonderful life going forward with friends and family love. I hope that you check out this book and the rest of the great series.  I was glad to get to read the next book in this great series.  I just need to go back to the beginning and read the rest of the series. Let's hope that I remember to reserve them at the library this time!!

Menu Plan Monday 2/1

 

 

Pasta with garlic bread

Lemon Herb Chicken with White Rice

Spicy Honey Mustard Chicken and mac and cheese and tater tots and circle fries

Ground beef Taco with corn bread

Homemade Pizza (Pepperoni, Garlic Chicken, Buffalo Chicken and Pizza Knuckle Roll Ups)

Whole Chicken with mashed potatoes or garlic parmesan orzo

Chicken Fries, Chicken Wraps and Homemade French Fries

 

I can't believe it is already time for the February meal plan but excited that I got to the inventory and plan early last month so that I could make sure I had enough before going shopping.  I grabbed the extra things and we needed and made a plan to include the items that we needed to use up in the pantry, fridge and freezer. We are running low on a few items including potatoes and chicken so I am starting the list of things that we need at the store for this month. I am also trying to figure out what I need to make and meal prep to be ready for the week ahead. Excited to have lots of yummy meals in the plan including some new meals that we haven't had before like the Lemon Herb Chicken.