Love Letters and When They First Met Book Review

I got the next book in the series out of the library of the series that I was reading.  Love Letters: A Rose Harbor Novel by Debbie Macomber was the next in the Rose Harbor series and I was excited to start it right after finishing the last one.  Now I am a little eager to go and check to see if there is another one already published for this series or whether I am caught up already.  I love getting into series after they already have a few books out because that gives me a lot more to read but if I remember correctly, this is the last that is currently published so I think that I am on to a new series now for a little bit!!

Summer is a busy season at the inn, so proprietor Jo Marie Rose and handyman Mark Taylor have spent a lot of time together keeping the property running. Jo Marie insists that Mark is only a friend. However, she seems to be thinking about this particular friend a great deal lately. Jo Marie knows surprisingly little about Mark’s life, due in no small part to his refusal to discuss it. She’s determined to learn more about his past, but first she must face her own—and welcome three visitors who, like her, are setting out on new paths.

Twenty-three-year-old Ellie Reynolds is taking a leap of faith. She’s come to Cedar Cove to meet Tom, a man she’s been corresponding with for months online, and with whom she might even be falling in love. They met through their love of books and became quick friends.  Ellie’s overprotective mother disapproves of her trip, but Ellie is determined to spread her wings and meet this new friend.

Maggie and Roy Porter are next to arrive at the inn. They are taking their first vacation alone since their children were born. In the wake of past mistakes, they hope to rekindle the spark in their marriage—and to win back each other’s trust. Things are going well until Maggie must make one last confession that could forever tear them apart. You have to pick up the book to see what happens with all of the visitors to the inn and I know that you will be as surprised as I was!

I loved it!!  As always, the writing and characters are amazing.  The stories of the people that are staying at the inn really bring you into the life of the inn keeper.  It is fun to see how Jo Marie grows with the other people and they help her heal while she is helping them.  The small town and all the great people in it are also wonderful.  The more you read of the series, the more characters you get to meet and small characters pop up from previous books.  I have really enjoyed this series and the cliff hanger at the end has me wishing that there was another book for me to pick up and I can't wait for the next in the series to find out what happens!!

I enjoyed the book so much that I looked up the short story that started the series.  I checked it out to read on the computer from the library.  It was a quick and easy read.  I am glad that they had it at the library because it really isn't worth its own review because it was so short.  I enjoyed reading it and getting a little more of the characters involved in the series that I have finished.  If you want to check out When First They Met (Short Story) (Rose Harbor) by Debbie Macomber but it is only available as a e-reader and in the end of some of the books in this series (but not in the one that I got).

From the moment Jo Marie sits next to Paul inside the Seattle Seahawks’ stadium, she feels a spark. Paul’s striking blue eyes and kind smile tell her that he’s someone special—different from any man she’s met before. When they strike up a conversation, Jo Marie and Paul realize how much they have in common, yet there’s one thing keeping them from a fairy-tale ending: Paul is in the military and will ship out of Seattle within the next six weeks. As Jo Marie wonders if she should once again open her heart, she decides that, no matter the stakes, she can’t forgo her chance at true love.

If you want to see how the couple first met that you learn all about in the series, read this short story to hold you over until the next book is released in the series.  I hope that you enjoy the book and the short story!  I did and I hope that they have them at your local library or bookstore so that you can read them too.

Mindset Book Review

I was offered a chance to get a free book and be a part of the discussion group at my son's school.  You know that I couldn't pass that up.  I didn't know anything about that book but I signed up immediately.  I have tried to get into a book group on some many occasions that I jumped at the chance even if it was just a one time thing.

World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, in decades of research on achievement and success, has discovered a truly groundbreaking idea–the power of our mindset.  Dweck explains why it’s not just our abilities and talent that bring us success–but whether we approach them with a fixed or growth mindset. She makes clear why praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals–personal and professional. Dweck reveals what all great parents, teachers, CEOs, and athletes already know: how a simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area.

I enjoyed the book and felt like I was back in school again (in a good way).  I had a little piece of paper stuck in the book where I made little notes with the page numbers of things that I found most interesting.  I figured that if I had to talk about it later that I should know where to find it.  Who knows how that will go but I am super excited after reading this book to sit down and talk about it with other parents.  What I learned from reading the book is that I had a lot of these same problems growing up and I want to make sure that I help my son to not feel the same way as I did growing up.  In the chapter about businesses, I saw many of the bosses that I worked with that only wanted people working for them that agreed with everything that they said (which I am not really good at and it takes a lot to hide my opinion).  I know that I am going to try to change the way that I speak to my son and I hope that it helps him to know that he can learn and grow and I think that in a working environment, I have learned how to make some changes that will make me happier.  There is a lot to learn in this book and I think that it has benefits to all people (even those without kids) to make sure that you set your mind to think about growing.  I can see how it will make your life better and help you learn to interact with others more positively.  I can't wait to put it into effect and put this reference book on my shelf to pick up again to refresh my memory.  I hope that you check this out at your local library or bookstore soon and enjoy it as much as I did!

February Shopping Trips

Giant $0 OOP

My first trip I don't seem to have a picture of because I did have my little helper with me and we were running late to get dinner on the table, maybe I forgot.  I went to Giant and got gallon of milk, 5 packages of ham and one pound of turkey lunch meat.  I also bought three bags of Malt-O-Meal cereal for my son which were on clearance for $0.50 each which he really wanted.  The total was $11.65 after sale and coupons.  I used my $10 Giant credit for being part of the online community...super sad that this was the last month to get this because I have earned one every month for at least two years and enjoyed it greatly!!! Then, I used my Kohl's rebate card to pay the additional $1.65.

Harris Teeter $0 OOP

I was totally out of eggs.  I went to Walgreens to get one dozen at the sale price of $1.29 and they were out.  I went back again and they were still out.  I got a rain check.  I went back with the rain check three times and they still didn't have any eggs so I gave up.  I pulled out my Harris Teeter rainchecks and found a few different egg ones.  There was one for 18 count of eggs (limit 3) at $2.50.  I had a coupon for $0.55 off which doubled so they were $1.40 for each one or total of $4.35 paid on Kohl's rebate card.  I knew that these would be enough to last us and I finished up one container in February and that leaves two containers for March.

Safeway $1.03

 
My husband took my son to Safeway to get a special treat after being super good during another one of our marathon construction days.  They brought me a doughnut too so my tummy was pretty happy.  I got this picture on my phone asking which one I wanted!! YUM!  I got the long chocolate covered one and my son picked out the one on the bottom with the sprinkles.

Target $0 OOP

I got a lot of great things at Target with lots of splurges but I went to get butter and cranberry juice with the option of getting some pasta for my son.  He is really picky and doesn't like the whole wheat or pasta plus that I currently have so I got him white fiber.  I grabbed some cereals for easy breakfast and a special treat of my son's favorite doughnuts.  I got gogurt for my son's lunch but they only had one in the kind he likes which includes only strawberry.  I also grabbed two packages of Ortega taco seasoning because they were on sale and I had a coupon.  I used my Target gift card for the $23.26 total after sales, coupons and cartwheel.

Mom's Shopping Trips $0 OOP

 

I had a few receipts from the stuff that my mom bought which included some stuff only for them that they took home with them and other stuff that they ate here or bought for our family meals.  She spent $15.14 at Harris Teeter on chicken kiev, cordon bleu and broccoli stuffed chickens and a bottle of Heinz Ketchup for my son which I was not going to buy him which she thought he should have for dinner.  She spent $24.78 at Aldi's to buy some cheese and potatoes that I asked for and some breakfast baked goods, salad mixes, and yogurt for her and my dad.  She also stopped at Wegman's and bought ground beef and mac and cheese which was totally for me and she spent $24.10.  I realize that this sort of makes it like I spent more this month but the only thing that I would have bought would have been the ground beef that we needed.

Total Spent for February $1.03

How did you do for February??  Do you think that I have used enough things around the house to be able to move yet?  Here is hoping for another month using most of the things around the house and spending very little money out of pocket on groceries in March.

Thrifty Thursday: My Coke Points and Free Cokes

Do you want to get free coke?  It wasn't a lot of work and I got a bunch more then just free coke.

Go to My Coke Rewards and sign up for your own account.  We don't drink that much soda so it is a special treat for us but there are ways to get free points and other promotions.  I read a bunch of different blogs and I saw a note on one of them last year that there was a promotion to get Coke Rewards certificates cheaper the normal points- only 30 points for a 12 pack of soda.  I quickly went on the My Coke rewards and entered in a bunch of points that I had in the kitchen waiting for me to log in and do it.  I ended up having enough points to order 9 free cases of Coke!!!!  The certificates came in after Christmas and had an expiration date at the end of March.

I waited and waited for a deal to get some great free Coke and something else and there was nothing.  I finally found something at Target.  They have a cartwheel deal with 15% off Coke (limit 4 per transaction).  I got 8 Coke products and put them in the cart.  I also grabbed lunch meat and milk that we needed.  I went to a sort of unfriendly cashier who made me bag all my soda myself because I guess she didn't think that soda needed to be bagged.  She got me so into the bagging that I forgot to scan the cartwheel on the first transaction and it was still only $0.24.  I used my gift card and then realized that I messed it up.  I should have just left the register and took a second to study the receipt to figure out what happened.  I think that the coupons rang up at $4.99 and not the price of the soda and the last coupon was overridden to only be the total remaining (which meant that I lost money).  I think that I only paid tax.  Instead, I went forward with the second transaction and it said I owed a few cents but then I gave her my gift card and the cartwheel kicked in so it ended up in the negative.  I have no clue if I got money back on the gift card or lost the money all together. 

After studying the receipts, I waited in line at customer service.  I told them that I didn't scan the cartwheel and they gave me $3 in cash back.  I guess that I made out pretty good with 8 free cases of Coke, gallon of milk and pound of lunch meat and more money in my pocket then I came in with but I still left feeling a little coupon sad because I could have done so much better like another package of lunch meat and the cooking oil that I needed if I had only known what was going on.  I had my little man with me so I think that I did okay and we made it out of the store without a second trip to the toy section which is what he wanted to do so I am considering this a win!  What do you think??

Kids Wednesday: Popcorn Science

I got a great idea to reserve some books at the library and do a little science and math lesson over the weekend.  Check out this website to see the science experiment using popcorn.  It was a tasty snack filled with fun learning!! What a great idea for a learning activity that doesn't feel like learning.

I made the popcorn on the stove a little bit ahead of time so that we would have popped popcorn and not have to wait for the finished product.

We started by going to the library to pick up the books that came in on reserve.

My mother read the one book that he wanted to read at the library before we came home.  They learned all about matter and how things changed in What Is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids, and Gases (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2)

by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and Paul Meisel.

When we got home, I got out two wide mouth ball jars so that we could count the 100 of each type of popcorn into the jars.

It was a hit!  My son had a blast counting the popcorn.  Doesn't he look at a little too happy??

And even more fun eating the popcorn!! He insisted that he should eat the ones out of the jar which was fine by me but he had trouble getting his hand in the jar and the popcorn still in the hand when it got too low.

He and Grandma enjoyed eating their snack of popcorn while I was reading the popcorn book.  While they were eating their snack, I read The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola.

I hope that you enjoy reading these books and learning about the difference and how solids can change like popcorn.  There is even lots to learn just about popcorn in the popcorn book that you might not even know.  I know that I learned some things!! 

A Rich Man for Dry Creek and A Hero For Dry Creek Book Review

I was reading through the books that I got through the library and I had another book in the Dry Creek series, A Rich Man for Dry Creek / A Hero for Dry Creek (Love Inspired Classics) by Janet Tronstad.  I was glad to get the few books that I could find at the beginning of the series from the library.  There aren't all of the books that I could find in the library but I look forward to finding a lot more books in this series.  Especially after reading this book with two stories included in one really big book.

A Rich Man for Dry Creek
All Robert Buckwalter wanted was a woman who'd love him for himself, not his money. Maybe a little town in Montana was just the place to find her—and maybe feisty personal chef,  Jenny Black, was just the woman to show him what true wealth really was.  Tiny Dry Creek, Montana, was the last place on earth Jenny would come to find love and a wealthy playboy was the last man on earth she'd find appealing. But when her employer's son caught her off guard with a kiss, Jenny didn't have a prayer of resisting him!
Fed up with jet-set gold diggers, Robert Buckwalter III was on the lookout for a faithful female who'd settle for a simple lifestyle in God's country. Jenny fit the bill -- and Robert was willing to trade his fat wallet for a little help from the man upstairs to win her over.

A Hero for Dry Creek
Maybe Nicki Redfern was still asleep, but it looked as though a handsome prince stood outside her window.

While acting as chauffeur for a former Dry Creek resident, Garrett Hamilton fell hard for Nicki. The cute rancher made his heart quiver, but he felt compelled to return to his nomad existence while he is drove a truck. With his mission now complete, Garrett faced the struggle of his life--could he live without Nicki Redfern or did he actually deserve true love and happily-ever-after with this special woman? Garrett Hamilton didn't see himself a hero— or even a man worthy of a good woman's love. But Nicki Redfern, the lovely rancher he'd been sent to protect, was making him wonder if he'd somehow found everything he wasn't even looking for.

I loved that the first book was about the same characters from the previous book.  It was great to read it right after finishing the next book because you got the perspective of the other characters on the same events that were happening previously.  The second book was totally new characters and I loved it too.  They are such great characters that you are pulling for the good guys to come out on top.  I know that I am going to look for more in this series to add to my reading list.  I hope that you check them out if you get a chance.  I am sure you will enjoy the heart warming stories about finding love and being a good person.  I hope that you check out this books at your local library or bookstore soon.

Menu Plan Monday 3/2

Monday- Chicken Kiev and Cordon Bleu with white rice
Tuesday- Cheese Raviolis with ground sausage and garlic bread and leftover Pizza Bites
Wednesday- Salsa Sloppy Joes with mac and cheese
Thursday- Leftovers or Breakfast for Dinner
Friday- Chicken Nugget Wraps with homemade fries
Saturday- Leftovers/??
Sunday- Leftovers/??

Last week, I had it so together that I wrote down two weeks of meals so that I didn't have to go back through the inventory and figure things out when the beginning of the month came up as a surprise.  I was excited to see that I had the week mostly figured out with things that I had in the house.  I do have to go to the store to get milk, butter and a few other essentials on Monday but most everything in already in the house.  Soft food after dentist appointment where they fit me for a crown :( but hoping to have a fast come back.  My son is going to visit my sister in law for a little bit over the weekend so who knows what we are going to eat because we will be spending most of the time working at the new house so we might be lucky to eat any actual meals.

Here is hoping that I have enough time to make a loaf of banana bread this week.  I was hoping to get one made last week but I didn't have enough time.  We have a few blueberry muffins leftover from last week and the brownies are gone (they never last that long) so I hope to make another batch this week.   If I can make a little more food then we should have a good week.  I hope that you have a good week and a tasty one!!