Menu Plan Monday 6/8

We made the best effort to move everything out of the house but things did not go forward with enough progress (which has been the answer to every part of this move and construction).  My new goal is to try to move things over through the week and really move in this weekend.  Cross your fingers and hope that we can get it done.  My husband has to hook up the lights in the two bathrooms and on the microwave hood.  The plumber is coming on Friday to hook up the kitchen sink, garbage disposal, water line for the fridge and the last bathroom sink with hope that also means the dishwasher.  I need to call the phone and cable company and get those shut off at the other house and hooked up at the new house....wonder how long that takes to get an appointment.

We still have the stove top and the oven sitting on the floor and everything else sort of a mess but I am so ready to move in and not be going back and forth to two different houses that it doesn't matter to me.  I went to the grocery store to get some ground beef.  I am going to make tacos tonight for dinner and then make at least two freezer containers of French dip sloppy joe and two containers of salsa sloppy joes at the old house to freeze at the new house.  I made a batch of rolls last night at the old house and threw them in freezer.  My husband has to get the propane filled and then I think that we will be grilling lots of our meals at the new house until he gets the oven and stove hooked up

Monday- Tacos with saffron rice

Tuesday- Spaghetti with garlic bread

Wednesday- Salsa Sloppy Joes with mac and cheese

Thursday- Leftovers or Take out

Friday- Chicken Nugget Wraps with homemade fries

Saturday

Sunday- Picnic for Soccer

I am hoping that the week goes well and I have a chance to move a bunch more to the new house but things are slow going at this point and we have a lot of things still left to do and not enough hours to do them in so we will see how that goes

May Reading Review

I read a bunch of different books this month and had tons of books to review.  I signed up for lots of books through the publishers to read because I thought that we would be settled in the new house so I signed up for at least once a week (sometimes two).  I try to read the books ahead of time and get all of the work done before it is supposed to be published on my blog.  Of course, not being settled into one house made it a little hard to keep up on the reviews but I tried to write the date on my calendar to keep track and make sure that I got all the books that I was expecting.  The hardest part is when they come in different orders then you are supposed to read them in but I tried to get the reading and the review done as quickly as they came in because I knew that I had a bunch to read for the month.  There were a few that I actually got to pick up at the library when I finished all my other books for review.

If you are interested in finding out more about the book, feel free to click on the title and it will take you back to the summary and review in the original post.  I hope that this helps and that you add a few books on to your list for summer reading! The first four books of the month were all for review and I took a quick detour with some books that came off my reserve list at the library and appeared on my shelf.

Heart Sisters

by Natalie Snapp

A Love Like Ours

by Becky Wade

Called to be Amish

by Marlene Miller

Amish Promises

by Leslie Gould

Snowfall

by Shelley Shepard Gray

Going to the Chapel
by Janet Tronstad

Never Say No
by Mark and Jan Foreman

The Proposal at Siesta Key
by Shelley Shepard Gray

As Waters Gone By
by Cynthia Ruchti

The Inn at Eagle Point
by Sherryl Woods

Flowers on Main
by Sherryl Woods

Harbor Lights
by Sherryl Woods

Total Books Read 2015

January       9

February     13
March         14 
April           9
May          12

Total Books    57

Currently Reading
Fatal Trauma
by Richard Mabry
(review due on Friday, June  5th)

Fatal Trauma Book Review

I was eager to read Fatal Trauma by Richard L. Mabry because I remembered really liking Critical Condition by Richard L. Mabry M.D.  If you haven't read any books by this author, you should really check them out.  They are medical based thrillers which are super well written because they are written by a retired doctor!  Gotta love that he is an author and a doctor to use his life experiences to make it even more interesting to the reader.

The gunman had nothing to lose, and therefore, the lives of everyone in the emergency room were at risk. Dr. Mark Baker and nurse Kelly Atkinson were on duty during the standoff, but despite their efforts, at the end of the evening, three men were dead—one police officer and two members of the feared Zeta drug cartel. But the killing is not over, because when the drug cartel loses its members, revenge is not far behind. Mark’s life continues to be in danger, but to make matters worse he finds he is under suspicion as a killer! He turns to his high school sweetheart, attorney Gwen Woodruff, for help, while Kelly helplessly looks on, hiding her feelings for the doctor. The characters in Fatal Trauma face life and death situations that cause them to question their faith, their priorities, and the meaning of their lives, while learning that God can use everyone— even people who’ve failed—because doesn’t that include all of us?

I got this late so I was feeling rushed to read the book but I got it read with plenty of time because I couldn't put it down!! I loved the last book that I read by this author and this was no different.  It had great writing and great characters which were really opened up through the book to show the reader how they were growing in response to everything that was happening.  As I was reading it, I felt like I was in the middle of all the drama and action going on in the book so I was on the edge of my seat.  There was so many different things going on at the same time that it was action packed even if it was just two people eating lunch because you learned really important information.  I love when an author tells the story through the actions of the characters instead of more of a narration because it makes you feel like you are in the middle of the action.  I really need to add some of his other books to my reading list but I always forget so this book was a reminder for me.  I hope that you add this and others by Richard Mabry to your reading list soon!!!  I know that you will enjoy this one and I can't wait to hear what you think!

**I was provided a copy of this book for my review and honest opinion.  All opinions here are my own.  If you are interested in getting books from the Litfuse publishing group, you can check out their website at here.

Harbor Lights Book Review

I enjoyed the first two books that I had to pick up the third book as soon as I was done with the last. Harbor Lights (Chesapeake Shores) by Sherryl Woods is the third book in the series and luckily I reserved it at the beginning.  I was glad to have this one to follow up and super sad when it was over because I didn't have the fourth book!!

Struggling in his role as a newly single father, former army medic Kevin O'Brien moves home to Chesapeake Shores. He wants a haven for himself and his toddler son, surrounded by the family he knows he can count on, and a future that's nothing like his past. But Kevin is suddenly facing a risk he hadn't anticipated, in the form of Main Street bookseller Shanna Carlyle.  Shanna immediately recognizes Kevin as a wounded soul—she's had way too much experience with the type. Still, this charming O'Brien man and his son are almost impossible to resist.  Then, just when the barriers are toppling, someone from Shanna's past appears. Confronted with a threat to their hard-won serenity, Kevin and Shanna face their toughest challenge—learning to trust again.

Loved it!!  Who doesn't love a story about a single father and how they are making it through and making the best life for their son.  There is a lot emotion in this book because of the loss of Kevin's wife at war and the grief that he is feeling.  The writing and characters are great and really make you feel like you are living in this small Maryland town and going through all of the emotions of the characters.  I was really interested on how things would turn out in this book for all of the members of the O'Brien family, especially Kevin and his son.  I loved the book and I hope that you check it out in your local library or bookstore!!  I know that you will enjoy this book and others in the series.

Flowers on Main Book Review

I reserved the second book in the series as soon as I picked up the first at the library and I was super glad when it came in right in time! Flowers On Main (Chesapeake Shores) by Sherryl Woods is the second book in the Chesapeake Shores series.

When her last two plays are dismal failures and her relationship with her temperamental mentor falls apart, writer Bree O'Brien abandons Chicago and the regional theater where she hoped to make a name for herself to return home. Opening Flowers on Main promises to bring her a new challenge and a new kind of fulfillment.  But not all is peaceful and serene in Chesapeake Shores, with her estranged mother on the scene and her ex-boyfriend on the warpath. Jake Collins has plenty of reasons to want Bree out of his life, but none of those are a match for the one reason he wants her to stay: he's still in love with her.  Jake might be able to get past that old hurt if he knew Bree was home to stay, but is she? The only way to know for sure is to take a dangerous leap of faith.

I enjoyed the book and couldn't put it down!!  I haven't gotten much done around the house with the move or much sleep for that matter with all this reading.  This was a great follow up to the first book where we now get to learn about another of the O'Brien family.  This was a great look into the small town and the quirky family that I came to love in the last book.  This gave me all new insights into the working of this barely talked about sister, Bree, with dealing with every aspect of her life and trying to find out what she is going to be "when she grows up."  The flower shop is a great place where you get to find out all about the things that Bree is working though and get to see even more of the great town.  I hope that you pick up this book at your local library or bookstore and check it out for yourself.

The Inn at Eagle Point Book Review

I went to the library in search of a great summer read because it is super hot here already and who doesn't love a good summer read.  I was looking for something fun and I found this new Sherryl Woods series that I haven't read before which was set on the water in Maryland.  The Inn At Eagle Point (Chesapeake Shores) by Sherryl Woods is the first book in the series which was in the large print section, sadly none left in the paperback section.  I picked that up and put the second two paperbacks on reserve.  They came in right after I finished the read so that I can continue with the series.  Super excited to find such a good summer read series!

It's been years since Abby O'Brien Winters set foot in Chesapeake Shores. The Maryland town her father built has too many sad memories and Abby too few spare moments, thanks to her demanding Wall Street career, the crumbling of her marriage and energetic twin daughters. Then one panicked phone call from her youngest sister, Jess, brings her racing back home to protect Jess's dream of renovating the charming Inn at Eagle Point.  But saving the inn from foreclosure means dealing not only with her own fractured family, but also with Trace Riley, the man Abby left ten years ago. Trace can be a roadblock to her plans…or proof that second chances happen in the most unexpected ways. You have to pick up the book to find out what happens next!

I hope that you check out this series and other books by this author.  She is a wonderful writer and she does a great job bringing this ocean front community to life and all the characters in the town.  There seems to be a little extra house for you on the block so that you can get to know them all because the descriptions are like you have known these characters your whole life.  I had a hard time putting down the book when I was reading because you just want to find out what happens next.  I hope that you pick it up at your local library or bookstore and enjoy it as much as I have.

Menu Plan Monday 6/1

I am getting close to the end of living in the old house living with everything going in construction and moving!!!  We are getting the last of the work done on the house and we are almost out of food at this house so there isn't much to figure out what to serve.  I really don't know what I am going to do to get us through the week with the food we have in the house but I guess I will have to run out and get some chicken or ground beef but I just don't know when I am going to have time to do it between all of the things I have going on so we will see how much we end up eating out or getting take out.

Grilled Cheese and mac and cheese or soup
Spaghetti with garlic bread or Sausage Lasagna (if I get it made)
Chicken Nugget Wraps with homemade fries
Beef Quesdillas with Saffron Rice or Leftovers
Homemade Simplified Chicken Fried Rice with take out egg rolls
Hamburger for husband and Baked Potato with cheese and bacon for me and son's choice
Breakfast for Dinner or Leftovers

We are going to figure out a way to make it through the week and hoping to start moving food and kitchen stuff over to the new house so that we will be able to start grilling and eating at the new house.  Super excited to be close to the end of trying to balance two houses and excited to use my new kitchen.  Do you have anything yummy planned for the week??