Bound By Duty Book Review

My last Love Inspired books was Bound by Duty (Military K-9 Unit) by Valerie Hansen.  I put this one off until last because I don’t usually pick the books that are about the military.  I don’t think that there was anything wrong with it because there is a cute cover and a great name but it was my last choice for books.  I was totally wrong because this book was amazing!!

The Military K-9 Unit series continues: Her serial killer brother’s escaped—and it’s single mom Zoe Sullivan who’s under suspicion! Sgt. Linc Colson trusts two things: his instincts and his Rottweiler K-9 partner, Star—and certainly not the pretty face he’s assigned to monitor. He’s done everything to keep her from getting under his skin—now he must stop those who want to put her six feet under.

Zoe Sullivan is living a tough life as a single parent to a little boy while working on an Air Force base as a flight instructor.  She is being followed by Sgt Linc Colson because they suspect her of helping her brother who recently escaped after being convicted of being a serial killer.  Zoe is not even in contact with her brother other then visits to jail to see him.  Bad things start happening and Zoe is removed from duty.  She is being watched and strange things are noticed and Linc starts to believe her.  He turns from her tail to her guard.  They become very close through all of the crazy ups and downs but you have to pick up the book to find out what happens because I think that you will be amazed at the lengths people go to in order to make Zoe look like she is losing her mind.   I really enjoyed this nail bitter of a book and waiting to find out what was going to happen next made it so hard to put down the book!!!  I know that you will enjoy it if you read it too!!

**I received a copy of this book for my review but all opinions here are honest and my own.

Primary Suspect Book Review

I got a chance to review a series of four books in the Love Inspired series.  I read two of them and reviewed them in April so I had two more that were being released in May so I patiently waited to read them so that I could review them when they were being released.  The second two were both Suspense books which was noted on the cover… which made me a little nervous because I am not great at mysteries.   My first was Primary Suspect (Callahan Confidential) by Laura Scott.  I was so glad to get to read this that I was instantly hoping for another book by this author to read.

Wrongfully Accused A Callahan Confidential story:  When fire investigator Mitch Callahan is attacked at a crime scene, he’s shocked to uncover the body of a slain ex-girlfriend—and realize someone’s framing him for murder. Widowed ER nurse Dana Petrie believes Mitch is innocent, and not just because he makes her feel alive again after tragedy marred her past. But is she willing to risk everything only to love and lose again?

Mitch Callahan is a fire investigator and he was attacked at a scene of a fire after he saw his ex-girlfriend lying dead in the burned out building.  He went to the hospital to get stitches for his gash and he runs into a nurse who is a wife of a fallen fire fighter.  He is trying to leave the hospital quickly after getting stitched up because he realizes that he is being framed for murder and doesn’t want to end up in jail.  Lots of crazy things happen starting with someone coming into the hospital room to try to kill him.  Mitch escapes with Dana Petrie from the hospital and they go into hiding.  Mitch luckily has a lot of family to call on that help him search for the real killer while trying not to get caught.  This story although a little stressful was not scary so I was super glad to get to read this amazing story.  There were tons of ups and downs for Mitch and Dana while they were trying to stay safe and clear Mitch’s name.  In the process, the two of them start to feel a strong attraction and you have to pick up the book to find out what happens. Hope you enjoy this suspenseful but not scary book for yourself.

**I received a copy of the book for my review but all opinions here are honest and my own.

Million Dollar Cowboy Book Review

I read this book awhile ago and then it sat on my side table not getting written up because there were so many things going on.  I am glad that I could remember what it was about to share it with you. 

I found Million Dollar Cowboy: A Cupid, Texas Novel by Lori Wilde in my pile of books and I was trying to read through them instead of getting more books from the library.  I have made a pretty big dent in the pile but this was next.  I have no idea where I got or why I picked it up except I like books set in the country and cowboys usually mean the country.  I was glad that I had it in my pile and look forward to some of the other strange finds in the large shelf of books still to read.

New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Wilde returns to Cupid, Texas with a heartwarming story of a cowboy who comes home to the family ranch for a wedding filled with surprises…The illegitimate son of a Texas ranching dynasty, Ridge Lockhart left home ten years ago with one goal: to become more successful than the father who never accepted him.  Mission accomplished, but now he’s back at the Silver Feather Ranch for a wedding—three days of best man duty until he can hightail it out. Then he spies Kaia Alzate, and suddenly leaving isn’t quite so appealing.  Kaia Alzate grew up the daughter of the ranch foreman, servants to the mighty Lockharts in the mansion. Back then, she followed Ridge around like a puppy. Now, she’s fighting the attraction she feels for this sexy CEO. She’s determined not to make a big mistake—but when Ridge takes her in his arms she’s stunned…could he be the man she’s waited for all along?

I enjoyed this story a lot because it started at the beginning of young Ridge Lockhart’s life when he lost his mother and followed him through to the current.  Ridge left the small town he grew up in to make a name for himself and to prove he was better than his father.  He came back for his best friend’s wedding.  He meets Kaia Alzate as soon as he gets off the plane but doesn’t realize that she is the younger sister of his best friend.  They both try to fight the attraction that happens immediately but it hard to go against the feelings that they had.  It was interesting to see all the things that went into the wedding and the families getting together.  The best part was the issues with father and son trying to get over the past and move forward.  I thought it was a great story with lots of great writing and characters.  I hope that you enjoy this as much as I did when you pick it up.

May First Half Shopping and Eating Out Totals

We budget $160 per month for my family of 3 to purchase all of our household goods including groceries, paper goods and personal care items.  I shop sales, use coupons and do the best that I can to stretch that budget as far as I can through the month by paying the least for items that I can.  I bake items like our bread, rolls, breakfast treats and desserts which helps stretch foods between trips to the store.  We try to cook all of our meals at home to enjoy great food at low prices.  In addition, I have a $40 budget for eating out for the month.

Below are all the trips that I made to the store and a picture of what I got in each one.  The amounts are what I spent and there is a breakdown of how much I spent on each item.

Harris Teeter $9.23

I went to use the rain check for the Big Chewy bars for my son.  The Chilly Cow was a great deal because it was on sale for $2.89 and I had $2 coupons for each one.  The electronic coupon came off too and there was a rebate to make it an even better deal.  I got the Sweet Tart ropes for $0.09 after coupon. I got $5.25 in rebates.

Aldi $2.04

We were out of milk and I had gone at the end of last month but it was a higher price with a fast expiration date so I had to go back and get it at another store.

Safeway $0 

I got a freebie at Safeway that I saved to my card and went in and got these free.

Giant $0.29

I got some freebies on my card for dog food which ended up having overage.  I also for the free taco powder for a little more overage to pay for the bananas and the lemon so I paid mostly only tax and there was a rebate for $0.25 back on the bananas from Ibotta.

Harris Teeter $8.87

I went for the first day of super doubles and got free Special K cereal and Ortega seasoning.  I bought some Cheez It coupons online and they were on sale so I got 5 boxes for $1.98 or $0.40 per box.  I also bought some Pringles coupons so they were $0.25 each after coupon.  I got the Whole Fruit Bars and Tubes for $0.50 each and then turned them in for $1.00 rebates each.  I got the Van's waffles for $0.79 after sale and coupons and turned in a rebate for $1 for each box.  I got the Kahiki egg rolls for $1.50 per box with a coupon that was expiring that day.  Although it was an expense that I didn't need to spent, I thought that they would be easy to use for quick dinners this summer.  I got two packages of diapers for $1.99 for my cousin.

Harris Teeter $1.88

I got free Tasty Bite rice and $0.09 Sweet Tart Ropes.  I paid $0.50 for each bag of McCain's and turned in a $1 rebate to Checkout 51.

Harris Teeter $8.36

I got free water, olives, Barilla ready pasta, Frank's hot sauce, and three Franks Honey Garlic sauce.  I got the Cheez Its for $0.40 each after sale and coupon.  The Mahatma Organic rice was $1.49 after coupon.  The Furmano Tomatoes were supposed to be on sale for buy one, get one but they rang up $1.50 each so they ended up being $0.83 each after coupon and sale.   The McCain's potatoes are $0.50 each.  I got two boxes of Van's waffles for $0.79 each and turned in for $1 rebate each. I got $1 rebate from Ibotta for Ready Pasta and should get $1 back from Saving Star.

Harris Teeter -$0.90

I finally saw that the Franks deal was still active and all I had to do was buy $12 of Franks and get $3 off my whole order.  I got six bottles free and additional $3 off to pay for my hot dogs which were $1.14 per package.  I got the Furmano's tomatoes which ended up being $0.83 each but it didn't ring up right and the customer service desk gave me back $3.08 so the total was negative after the amount of the return.

Harris Teeter $7.19

I got free shaving cream.  The Pringles were $0.25 each.  The McCains were $0.50 each.  The Cottonelle was $3.99.  I got $0.50 rebate back for the Cottonelle and the $3 bonus.

Harris Teeter $8.40

I got the free Franks sauce which also gave me a $3 promotion off.  The rice was $1.49 per bag.  The string cheese was $0.34 each.  The block cheese was $1.36 each which is better then Aldi so I decided to grab it.  I turned this in for $0.25 cheese rebate.

Harris Teeter $0.69 

The Barilla ready pasta, Yakisoba noodles and Asian Noodle Bowls were all free.  I think that one coupon gave me a little overage because the McCain potatoes were $0.50 each.  I turned this in for lots of rebates including $0.25 any item, $1.50 ready pasta, and $1 McCain from Checkout 51.

Shoppers $0.08

I got a freebie for the chips that I got to load on my card.  I grabbed the tic tacs which were free after coupon.  I messed up a little because there was another electronic coupon so I could have had another $0.50 credit towards other food but I didn't know ahead and didn't plan well.  Best part was that I turned it in for $0.50 rebate which also prompted a $0.50 bonus for all my rebates.

Harris Teeter $28.18 

I got free bread, think thin bars and pineapple.  My husband finished his turkey so I grabbed two which were on sale and I used a coupon to get them for $3.49.  I got the Cran Grape on sale for buy one, get one free so they worked out to $1.99 each.  I got the Gatorade for my husband for $0.67 each and turned in for $0.25 rebate.  The Blue Bunny was the best deal at a shelf price of $5.29, they were on sale half off and there was a $2 coupon so they were $0.64 each.  I turned them in for $1 rebate on Ibotta so they were $0.14 per box.  We enjoyed them for dinner.  These rebates also got me a $2 bonus!!!

Harris Teeter $19.52

I went to the store to get more Cran Grape since the other store was out of stock so they were $1.99 each.  I also wanted to get the Big Chewy Bars because they were out of stock in the other store too so they were $1.49 each limit 2.  I also got another loaf of free bread, free pineapple and $0.09 Sweet Tart candy.

Giant $0.32

I went to the store to get the Friday Freebies which was the candy and the yogurt.  I decided to get the tomato and bananas for the overage if there was any.  I was walking through the aisles and I saw clearance Finlandia butter so I walked back to the car and got my coupons....yup I was planning on not couponing.  I grabbed four butters which were money makers after the coupons were entered so I paid $0.21 plus tax.  I turned in the Ibotta rebate for $0.25 for the tomato.

Safeway $0

I got a coupon for a free item from the Monopoly game so I went in to grab a gravy packet.

Target $0 (used pay pal)

I used pay pal from my rebates to buy my son's vitamin which I ordered at home and they were ready to pick up in less then 30 minutes.

Harris Teeter $6.38

I went to get more of the Blue Bunny ice cream.  My son really enjoyed the caramel cones so I was glad to see that they had more on the shelf although that was all that they had.  I got an amazing deal on pork for $0.99 so we will be eating that soon.  I also grabbed one more of the olive oil which was $1.89 after sale and coupon.  It was an amazing deal which I should have passed up because I didn't need it but it was a great price that was hard to pass up!! I turned in a rebate for $1 from Ibotta.

Harris Teeter $3.41

I got these on a separate transaction so that I could do a second rebate if it came back.

Harris Teeter $3.41

I went to a second store because the first was out of the Bunny snacks and the Just Crack An Egg for the Taste and Tell that I wanted.  The second store had everything that I wanted after I asked someone to go to the back to get the All American Just Crack an Egg.  Super excited to get everything and better that I packed ice packs so that I could do all my stops including Safeway, Gas Station, Target, Harris Teeter and Second Harris Teeter. I turned in the rebate for $1 on Ibotta.

Harris Teeter $3.41

I think that I went a little crazy with the Blue Bunny deal but they were $1.14 each after sale and coupon instead of $5.29 shelf price.  My son really enjoyed the special treat and there was a rebate so I was hopeful to get the great deal more then once with a rebate reset!!  Sadly, I forgot to use the electronic coupon because I didn't save it so I used all my printed coupons instead.

Total Retail $640.46

Total Savings $524.51

Total OOP $115.95

Not necessarily the best first half of the month because I spent way too much but I got a ton of deals that will carry me through the rest of the month.  We really needed the Cran Grape and we will enjoy the ice cream now that it has gotten hot out.  I have $44.05 left for the month to buy the items that we need.  I know that we will need some milk but I don't think that there will be a lot of other expensive items (at least I am hoping).  At the end of the month, I might try to figure out the price of the diapers and take them out of the budget since they are for a gift and not something for us but I don't know the total cost so I haven't take them out yet.

I went a little crazy this month with the rebates and so far have already gotten $28.00 in rebates and bonuses.  I will also get some for the Cheez It and Pringle purchases through Saving Star through my 1% bonus but it is so slow that only $0.31 has been added so far this month.

Eating Out

We haven't eaten out at the beginning of the month because we are saving our budget for the rest of the month with the holiday weekend and other things going on so we will be out and about and might need a treat out for all of us!!  My son is already talking about ice cream and mini golf so we might be doing that to pretend that summer is already here!!!

Menu Plan Monday 5/14

Monday- Chicken fries, Chicken Wraps or Salad and homemade fries and tater tots
Tuesday- Pork Chops and Herb Rice
Wednesday- Tacos
Thursday- Pasta with meatballs
Friday- Homemade Pizza
Saturday- Leftover Family Fun Night
Sunday-Simple Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and Edamame

Last week actually went pretty well in terms of getting dinner on the table.  We had my son's favorite dinner on Monday although we tried the McCain smiles I bought instead of making french fries because I wasn't home long enough to make them.  We had spaghetti and meatballs on Tuesday and I ate my meatballs as a sandwich next to a side of pasta.  I used the rest of the chicken from the fridge to make an Asian chicken stir fry over rice on Wednesday and cut up the remaining chicken to freeze for . On Thursday, we had Salsa Sloppy Joes and mac and cheese.  Friday brought homemade pizza night where we all made some of the pizza.  I used my free pizza crusts with a little corn meal put on the bottom, leftover sauce from the meatballs, some pepperoni, leftover sausage, a little seasoning, and a block of shredded mozzerella cheese with Parmesan cheese.  The cost of making our two pizzas was around $1 each.  Saturday we had a soccer game and come home to make family leftover night and we were going to watch a movie but my son got really into a book on CD and we listened to that instead.  Sunday we had the simple fried rice with egg rolls for lunch instead of dinner and then there was a quick and easy dinner before I had to go to work.

This week we are going with a similar plan and hope to have a similar week this week with hopefully a little more free time. I moved a few things around because I got some clearance pork chops for $0.99 so that is a no brainer!!  I haven't decided how I am going to make them but we are looking forward to eating them.  We are looking forward to a good week and counting down until the end of the school year and pool opening!!

Menu Plan Monday 5/7

Monday- Chicken fries, Chicken Wraps and homemade fries and tater tots
Tuesday- Pasta with meatballs
Wednesday- Chicken and Rice
Thursday- Salsa Sloppy Joes or Tacos
Friday- Homemade Pizza
Saturday- Leftover Family Fun Night
Sunday-Simple Fried Rice, Egg Rolls and Edamame

Last week was crazy and went a totally different direction after I realized that I was working two days and I volunteered at my son's book fair.  Then the week ended with me going to the basement to move something to the freezer and when my husband had gotten the meat out of the freezer earlier in the week, something got stuck in the freezer door so it wasn't shut for days!!!  AHHHHH!!  I spent my Friday thawing out the freezer and getting it all cleaned up.  It was a little hard to fit everything in the small fridge freezers but I had two and there were a few things that I took out to thaw and eat.  It was an interesting end to a busy week but meant that we got to eat some breakfast sausage for breakfast and some chicken that was thawed for dinner one night.  I basically followed the plan but tacos ended up being Saturday instead of Thursday and we went to a friends on Friday and brought brats from the freezer thaw over there instead of making pizza at home.  Hoping for a calmer week all around except for the excitement of super doubles and loading up on things that are great deals.  Hope you have a great week!!