Heart Sisters Book Review

I decided to start signed up for more book reviews again because we were supposed to be settled in the new house at this point but sadly, we are not and I have lots of new books to read with deadlines.  Heart Sisters: Be the Friend You Want to Have by Natalie Chambers Snapp was the first of these books to come in to read.  I finished all the books from the library and started reading this one for my review.

Heart Sisters is for women who want to both be and have better friends and want a helpful guide to take them through the process. Author Natalie Chambers Snapp uses her own and others’ stories of successes and failures to illustrate what she has learned about girlfriend relationships. Healthy boundaries, honesty, tact, sharing, and agape love all play a part in being and maintaining a circle of close confidants. She also deals with the inevitable challenges that face many relationships including how to handle conflict; life changes like a new baby, move or divorce; and when it is right to “break-up” with your friend. Discussion questions, space to journal, photos, and quick interviews of healthy female friendships are included within each chapter.

This book wasn't really something that interested me which I didn't know until I read the Letter to the Readers.  The blurb on the back did not give the content of the book justice.  I know that there are going to be lots of people out there that really like this book but it was much more based on the Bible than I was expecting. I do not think that talking about an issue and backing it up with quotes from the Bible actually helps make the point clearer.  There are many "self-help" books out there that state opinion and then follow up with statements from studies or other experts.  This book followed the same format but there was rarely any facts used and just quotes from the Bible.  The main idea was to help get more close friends and the only thing that she said was join a MOPs or Bible study group.  I don't think that either one of these things helps people find more close friends because it doesn't give any tips on how to actually make those friends other then to be outgoing.

In addition, there were a few comments that were down right insulting like you can have friends who don't believe in God or the Bible because they will encourage you to give up your marriage and not fight for it.  I don't go to church but I am a strong believer in my marriage and certainly plan to work through ever problem with my husband and never get divorced.  I am not sure how me not going to church has anything to do with that aspect of my life.  She also stated that men and women cannot be friends which I think is also totally crazy.  I had friends when I was working that were male because I worked in a male dominated job and my husband had female friends at different jobs.  Having a friend at work never made either of us cheat or do anything to compromise our marriage.  The author felt that having an emotional connection with someone of the opposite sex was as good as cheating.  I just can't disagree enough!!  Friends should be friends whether they are black, white, purple, or green as well as male or female.  I had a female friend who worked and her husband was a stay at home dad so I tried everything to invite him to different events that I thought he would enjoy with his son because I knew that he was struggling with being a stay at home dad.  It was hard for him because other groups wouldn't hang out with him because he was a man and I think that is a horrible way to show your Christian love by making someone not feel welcome.

I read the book cover to cover and I am sorry to say that I would not recommend this book.  I didn't enjoy any of it and got no information on how to be a better friend or make more friends.  I think that there might be some people out there that this book would be a good fit for but it wasn't me.  I wish that the blurb on the back cover was a little bit more in line with what was inside the book!!

**I was provided a copy of this book for my honest review and opinion.  All of the opinions here are my own.

Thrifty Thursday: What Did I Make This Week?

I always start my week out looking to plan what I need to do for the week which is why I start with the menu plan.  It helps me get off to a good start if I start with a plan.  I make most of our food from scratch (during a normal week when we aren't doing construction and moving). Making our food helps to keep the grocery budget low because I have most of the ingredients around the house and I don't have to buy more food.  If you add in a few other foods to make the week go smoothly like frozen egg rolls and chicken nuggets which we had this week.  Sometimes I would make these from scratch but few and far between because I can get them cheaply at the store and it saves me a little work during the busy week.

Here is how my week looked! If you want the recipe, click on the title and it will take you to the original post.

American Sandwich Bread

I start all weeks with a loaf of bread to make sandwiches with.  My son likes it super fresh and doesn't eat it after the first few days usually but it works for my husband for the week. I love my bread machine and even having to take it out of the closet and start it up once a week is worth it!

Fresh Brewed Iced Tea

I make one pitcher everyday cause I drink too much tea but I love it!  It is easy and cheap and tasty!  My husband hates this pitcher because it drips when you pour the first few cups but it is so easy to make and serve in the same safe pitcher instead of doing something in plastic.  I use one tea bag and boil water to steep it in.  I add some sugar so I don't need to use any sweetners but I used to use it with sweetners.

Ultimate Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
with Crisco and Butter

I made this batch with 1/2 c Crisco stick and 1/4 butter because I thought that the last batch was too greasy.  It did the trick and they were fabulous.  My husband and son have been asking for chocolate chip cookies for weeks so they are going to be happy to see them!

Betty Crocker Pie Crust from box

My husband's favorite pie is cherry pie.  My mom bought the boxed crust and two cans of pie filling which have been sitting in the cupboard since the holidays because she never got a chance to make it.  So I decided I better make it instead of moving everything.  I made the crust and put it in the fridge to chill because it was super sticky.

Seasoned Oyster Crackers

made with taco, cheese and butter seasoning

We were out of the majority of the Kernel's seasoning so I was working with what I had.  I have a taco seasoning mix that we didn't ever use so I decided to throw that in.  In addition, I had extra packages of cheddar cheese powder from noodles that I re-purposed so I threw that in.  In addition to add a little extra powder and flavor, I added a little Molly McButter.  I think that they turned out okay.  I am excited to try new mixtures for these super yummy oyster cracker creations.

Olive Oil Spaghetti with Fresh Basil

I got a coupon to get $2 off $5 of produce at Wegman's.  I already was planning on buying a head of lettuce and green beans (and I might have put an artichoke in the basket too).  I just needed a little more to buy when I found the wonderful basil plant and my mind was made up!  What a bargin!!! Now I have yummy food through the summer without even having to grow it.

Garlic Pizza Bites

Okay, I didn't make these this week!  I made them last week but we toasted them up in the toaster oven and had two each with our meal dipped in pizza sauce.  YUM!!  Does it count if I get to take it out of the container that I made last week?

Fresh Stovetop Popped Popcorn
 with Butter Flavored Salt

My son has this every day for snack at school so I make two batches at the beginning of the week and if I stay out of it then it usually lasts the whole week.

Simplified Fried Rice
with chicken broth and soy sauce

I toasted the rice in the pan before adding the chicken broth mixed with soy sauce.  It is my attempt to make it a little more Asian to go with meal we were having and to add a little more flavor.

Stir Fry Green Beans

Sadly, used up all of the garlic last night so I got a little creative and used sesame oil, red pepper infused oil, and salt and pepper in the pan.  Then I added garlic powder and garlic flavored rice vinegar.  Topped with sesame seeds and they were yummy!!

Cherry Pie
with pie crust from fridge
and two cans of cherry pie filling

The can of pie filing said 425 degrees for 50 minutes so I went with the instructions although I didn't do a egg wash on the top of the pie just a sprinkling of sugar.  My husband was excited about the cherry pie so we enjoyed it through the week because normally we only have pies around the holidays so it was an extra special treat.  It was a surprisingly good crust and to add a little bit of yummy, I sprinkle the top with a little sugar.  I left the pie in a few minutes too long because I got distracted but it was still super tasty even if it wasn't super pretty.

Homemade French Fries

My son's favorite food was on the list as it is most weeks.  I peel and cut the potatoes and soak them in water.  The great thing is that means that I can do it earlier in the day and then have them in the fridge waiting for dinner.

Since there is still a little left of the week, here are the rest of the things that I have planned for the week.

French Dip Sloppy Joe
on Homemade Rolls

I found this recipe awhile ago and it is so super simple that I can't stop making it.  It makes for a tasty and super easy meal which is also something that can be made ahead and frozen.  I making mine with a little extra sauce which I like to pour on my roll but my husband likes his a little drier so I scoop just the meat with the flavoring.  I have also spiced it up a little by adding 2 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and 2 tbsp Al (which I use half regular and half hot and spicy) instead of either.  Great flexible recipe that changes based on what you like.  The rolls are something I found in 2012 and haven't stopped making since.  They are easy and tasty while freezing and reheating great.  They are a go-to recipe for me that I wouldn't be able to live without.

Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes

I love this recipe because it takes awhile to cook but it is all hands off time so you get time to throw it in the oven and then back to the little man because they always want more around dinner time.  It all goes right in the casserole dish and into the oven like this:

And it comes out like this, with both the chicken and the potatoes cooked and seasoned. YUM!

Leftover Night
when I am having
Salsa Sloppy Joe Topped Potato!!!

If things go really well (and we don't have house showings which also means that things are also going very badly), then I am going to make doughnuts.  My son's favorite and we all love the treat.  If I can't do it for breakfast, they are also a great dessert after dinner (recipe found here).

I really feel that you save a lot of money by cooking at home.  Whether you cook with the help of a box or from scratch, the end result is the same.  I have worked hard to try to come up with some easy and fast recipes for the middle of the week craziness so that we don't give it all up and order take out.  I hope that you try a few recipes that work for your family and see if there is anyway that you can make them easier like make a double batch and freeze, cook the ground beef or chicken ahead of time, or marinate the chicken in the freezer so that it thaws in the marinate.  How did your week go?

Hope it was tasty!!!

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Kid Wednesday: Teacher Appreciation Gifts for the Kids to Make

I know that it should come up as a surprise but it does every year.  We got the sheet of paper home saying that it was teacher appreciation week!!  They sent home a flower for my son to decorate and put his face in the middle of so we did that and sent it back into the teacher.  Of course, I guess she is going to see them eventually, it seems weird to appreciate the teachers by adding more work for them collecting all these flowers.  Luckily, I had a bag with lots of markers in it and he chose to use his new metallic markers and make a pattern with the petals but sadly, it had an uneven number for his pattern (although this didn't bother him at all).  I had my husband print out a pictures which I glued in the middle and cut out the flower and traced the edge in red glitter glue (mostly because it was all I had).  I thought it looked nice when we were all done and super happy to say that we turned it in early so that I wouldn't forget!!

We also do an art project for the teachers but this year with everything going on with the house for sale and renovations in the final push, I totally didn't even come up with something.  I was excited to see that there was a great craft session at Lakeshore Learning, a national chain teacher store, for free teacher appreciation crafts.  We made these door hangers with the teachers names and my son made a pattern so that the beads on each side would match.  This was a super easy craft to make with the "eraser" and "pencil tip" being pre-cut and only requiring gluing.  It wasn't as fancy as it looked in the pictures online but I still thought it was cute.

Then, he made a bag where he painted a W for the teachers last name and used a roller to paint around the outside.  There were some fabric markers for him to make the other designs that he drew.  Then he made a tag for us to attach when it was dry.

The last craft was the flower pot.  It is a cardboard flower pot that he painted and decorated with jewels (which are a little hard to see in the picture).  Then while that was drying, he glued the flowers on the dowel to put in the flower pot.  The flower stick is held in place with tissue paper.  I made a hole in the middle so that it would be in the middle but at the store, they were sticking it in the edge....I like my way better!! Another tag attached!

We got all of our teacher appreciation gifts all done in one trip to Lakeshore Learning and we are ready for taking them to school on Monday morning.  I hope that they like them and know that we do appreciate them.

April Reading Review

It was an emotional and busy month with the house on the market and trying to remodel the other house still.  I think that my brain reached overload but luckily, I had my books after a long day or when I got a quick break to read during the day.  It was just a little more effort to actually get the review posted and I often had a pile that I needed to catch up on but I got them all up.

If you missed any of the reviews, click on the book title and it will take you back to the original review of the book so that you can see if you want to add it to your must read list.  I hope that this helps and happy reading!

Grace

by Shelley Shepard Gray

Missing
by Shelley Shepard Gray

Shepherds Abiding in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

The Search

by Shelley Shepard Gray

The Bridge of Peace

by Cindy Woodmall

The Found
by Shelley Shepard Gray

Peace
 by Shelley Shepard Gray

Small Town Brides
by Janet Tronstad and Debra Clopton

The Harvest of Grace
by Cindy Woodmall

Total Books Read 2015

January       9

February     13
March         14 
April           9

Total Books    45 

Currently Reading

Heart Sisters
by Natalie Chambers Snapp

Menu Plan Monday 5/4

Another week with limited food in the house but made a quick trip to Wegman's to get some ground beef to have some yummy meals through the month.  I cooked half of the package as soon as I got home and make two containers of french dip sloppy joes and two containers of salsa sloppy joes which went straight in the freezer.  I am working on cleaning out the cupboard but not making a lot of progress forward so we will probably still have a lot to move but on the plus side, not as much to stock up on after the move.

Chicken Fried Rice and Egg Rolls with Spicy Garlic Green Beans
Chicken Nugget Wraps and Homemade French Fries
Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes (using last of chicken)
Olive Oil Spaghetti or Pasta and garlic bread or leftover garlic pizza bites with fresh basil (YUM)
Tacos with saffron rice (using last of Nacho Cheese Hard shells)
French Dip Sloppy Joes on homemade rolls with chicken rice
Leftovers

Here is hoping that we have another good week and eat a bunch of meals at home and not out at restaurants.  Also hoping that we only have a few more weeks of this before moving into the new house.  We are going to be out town for some time during the month because of my cousin's wedding so I want to make sure that I get some good food for my son in before we are eating from the restaurant for a few days.  Hope you have a great week and enjoy some yummy meals!!!

April Showers Brings Shopping Flowers!

I did a lot of grocery shopping this month but still came in well under budget.  I don't know why I went so crazy but I guess that means that I had too much time!!

Safeway $1.03

My husband brought home two doughnuts (not the whole case) but sadly they get eaten long before pictures could be taken so you get the picture that he sent me of the selection.  YUM!

Aldi $33.92

I am sure that I took a picture of my trip but I couldn't find it anywhere in my picture files.  Oh well, I got 20 lbs of russet potatoes, gallon of milk, mint chocolate chip ice cream, celery, chicken nuggets, chicken fries, 3 blocks of cheddar cheese, 1 block of jack cheese, lettuce, nacho cheese tortilla chips, Vanilla Wafers, wheat crackers, brownie mix, and Aldi "Oreos."  I still have a little bit left of the potatoes, celery and the chicken nuggets but everything else is long gone.

Target $9.19

I didn't take a picture but I got these two for my sick little man.  He enjoyed the immune gummies because they were tasty so who knows if they helped but why not?!  We used up most of the medicine which seems to be the way anymore with the sicknesses so I will have to go out and do it all over again when he gets sick.

Harris Teeter $25.04

This was my first and only trip to super doubles.  I haven't couponed in so long that it was a sort of sad trip but I got what I came for with just a little of disorganization.  I can tell you that there were two very nice ladies in the cereal aisle that could obviously see that I was not with it and they handed me no less than 6 coupons and even handed me food.  I shouldn't be surprised but I didn't prepare and hadn't even cut most of the coupons in my mess so I didn't know what I had and what I didn't.  I knew that I needed Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Honey Nut Cheerios.  We also needed granola bars.  I grabbed ice cream too because it was on sale and Turkey Hill is our favorite!!  I got free juice boxes, coffee creamer, and tea bags.  The rest of the items were super great deals so that I saved $67.42!!

Aldi $13.20

Went for oranges for soccer and got a ton of junk...which of course we have been eating.

Harris Teeter $16.45

I went to get lunch meat which was on sale with coupon cheaper then Aldi and some milk.  There were also two clearance nuggets that ended up being $1.99 per package which is more then I would normally pay but we ate them that week for dinner so it was still a bargain.  I also picked up a bag of nuggets which were $3.99 after coupon which is the same price as Aldi's for nuggets that I think taste better.

Aldi $7.59

HaHa!!  My husband and my son walked through the aisle and got things at the store.  I don't even know what we came home with but I know that we got Starburst Jelly beans and 2 containers of Easter Sprinkles for $0.99 each.  I think that we also got a bag of Aldi Nacho chips, Sour Cream and Chives Pringles and Aldi "Oreos" and one block of cheese.  Of course, he promptly lost the receipt and they started eating the jelly beans!

CVS $20.52 

My husband needed allergy medicine so I went to the store and we found some great deals (not the allergy medicine but what are going to do)!  There were Centrum Kids Vitamins on sale $3.44 and I used a $2 coupon so they were $1.44 per bottle!!!  I also got the Advil for $0.27 per bottle.  We also needed tissues which were $1.50 for the box.  We added the extra yummy treat of fruit slices for $0.99.

CVS $0.34

CVS $0.68

CVS $0.38

CVS $0.21

Total OOP $128.55

I know that this seems crazy but I haven't spent this much on groceries (if you can call them that) since last February (over a year ago!?! WHAT!!!).  I think part of it was poor planning and the other part was way too much junk food.  We are running low on a few different foods at the house and we are hoping to move by the end of last month so I am trying not to buy a lot of things.  I am actually putting most of the things that I am stocking up on at the new house so I am bringing groceries to two different houses.  Everything is super confusing but I hope to have a low month next month even though I know that we will need some ground beef which I am getting at the beginning of May.  How did your month go??

The Harvest of Grace Book Review

The third book in the series finally came in which was great because I was really waiting to see what would happen in this book.  I already was super confused going back and forth between two different Amish fiction series which I hope to never mess up again because it is super confusing.  The Harvest of Grace: Book 3 in the Ada's House Amish Romance Series (An Ada's House Novel) by Cindy Woodsmall was a great final book in the Ada house series.

Although Sylvia Fisher recognizes that most Old Order Amish women her age spend their hours managing a household and raising babies, she has just one focus—tending and nurturing the herd on her family’s dairy farm. But when a dangerous connection with an old beau forces her to move far from home, she decides to concentrate on a new start and pour her energy into reviving another family’s debt-ridden farm.

After months in rehab, Aaron Blank returns home to sell his Daed’s failing farm and move his parents into an easier lifestyle running a store in town. Two things stand in his way: the father who stubbornly refuses to recognize that Aaron has changed and the determined new farmhand his parents love like a daughter. Her influence on Aaron’s parents could ruin his plans to escape the burdens of farming and build a new life.
Can Aaron and Sylvia find common ground? Or will their unflinching efforts toward opposite goals blur the bigger picture— a path to forgiveness, glimpses of grace, and the promise of love.

I really enjoyed this book and the whole series.  I loved getting to know Aaron better and meeting the new characters in the book.  The best part was finding out what happens with Lena and Grey and other couples who were courting through the last few books.  My biggest sadness is that there are only three book in the series so I am done and I have to get to know all new characters in other Cindy Woodsmall books.  I really love these characters and can't wait to see them come up in other books too.  I hope that you check out this book and all of the others in the Ada's House series.  I promise you won't be disappointed!!  Cindy Woodsmall has great writing and great characters and the only tough thing is putting the book down to get other things done.  I hope that you check this out at your local library or bookstore soon.