Nothing to Hide Book Review

Nothing to Hide (A Roland March Mystery) by J. Mark Bertrand was my next book from Bethany House Publishers that I got to choose.  It seemed drastically different from the lat two that I read so it seemed like a great choice.

Although this is the first book that I have read from the author, J. Mark Bertrand, I was instantly interested in his writing style.  The writing in this book reminds me of Robert Parker who wrote the Jesse Stone series and lots of others.  The language was very flowery and detailed to start out the book.  I was quickly engrossed in the book and couldn't put it down.  The characters are wonderful and the plot was full of twists and turns.

The main character is Roland March, a police detective, who is working on a case where there is a headless corpse in a park.  Dedicated to right and wrong, he continues on the case even after suspension from a shooting in the line of duty.  Not knowing who to trust, he has many different groups of people helping him to put together the pieces including the Houston police, FBI, and possible CIA working to clear his name and do the right thing.  The great thing is that this book covers not only his work life but including his home life with wife and friends.  It seems to be a little more realistic view of the detective's complete life so that you understand his motivations.

I don't want to ruin the mystery but check it out for yourself!!!  I can't wait to read some other books by this author!!  Going to add them to my list of books to find at the library next starting at the beginning of this series and working my way through as long as the author keeps writing this series :) I hope that you all check it out at your local library or bookstore!!

If you would like to receive review copies of books, you can sign up with Bethany House, too!

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Nothing to Hide from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip #6 and 7

I was super hopeful if I went to Harris Teeter again that they would have the things in that I still didn't get but I was wrong.  On my way down an aisle, I was stopped by a girl playing in the electric wheelchair.  I was a little confused and then she couldn't get the thing to work and get out of my way so she stood up and let her mom "drive" it.  I was starting to get a little irritated when I realized that I was stopped in front of the Weber Seasoning which was on sale for $1.99.  Ummm, I just cleaned out my whole coupon basket and there was a coupon for that in there!!!!  It would be free after coupon so I grabbed three and brought them with me to look for the rest of the deals.  No more luck after that miracle find.

Then the reason that I came was one package of pull-ups so I grabbed those.  I noticed when I got home that I needed 6.02 towards getting my next $5 reward from Kimberly Clark!!  WHAT!  I would only have to pay $3 for a bag of diapers and get $5 back.  Well, that is enough excuse to get off the couch and make it back to the store so I did.

I checked out and realized that there were only a few hours left in the sale and tons of the Weber Seasoning so I went back and got 3 Weber Seasoning for my mom on her card since I totally didn't see the deal while she was here and shopping.  These are the ones right up her alley :)

Total OOP $3.40
Total Savings $26.20

Sad and glad that it is over!!!  I have some extra time now and very little budget left for the month :)

Check out what I got in the mail!

I got this new Almond and Aloe lotion packet in the mail from Caswell Massey.  Isn't it pretty!!!

This was during my cleaning binge so I decided that I deserved a treat and I wouldn't put this in my travel bag (also known as the group of small samples that I bring with me the very few times that I travel so that I don't have to worry about not having anything).  I used it and it was great.  Not only did it make my skin soft (even after I washed my hands) but it smelled like almond.... YUM!  I smelled like a cookie which made me a little hungry but it was super!  If you wander by the store that has it, I highly recommend you give it a sniff.  Since I am on a lotion fast and not currently (maybe ever) buying another lotion, I won't be getting this one but maybe you will enjoy :)

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip #5 (Possibly the last)

Sadly, we are getting close to the end of super doubles.  My son and I went to the store today to grab some pull-ups.  They have been on my list all week but I kept forgetting to print the coupon.  I finally did it the other night along with a few more deals that I wanted to get but they were out of all of them :(  No more Damp Rid, Cover Girl Powder Puffs, Smart Balance Milk, Cottonelle Toilet paper, and lots more.

I grabbed a package of nighttime pull-ups because it was the only one left.  I was super tempted to by the princess ones since I know that he would like them just fine too but I wasn't sure if the girl ones had a different absorption area for the tinkle??  I would prefer not to get the leaks so I am crossing my fingers for tomorrow.

We also grabbed one more turkey lunch meat so that we can make it through a long time without having to worry about getting more lunch meat.  I also got two Red Baron Pizzas since they were on an evic special for $2.77.  I was hoping to get a little more and save a little more but it was still worth the trip.

Total OOP $11.90
Total Savings $15.25

Menu Plan Monday 8/13

Monday- Olive Oil Spaghetti with garlic bread
Tuesday- Buffalo Chicken Wraps with mac and cheese
Wednesday- Leftover Chicken Fingers
Thursday- Pizza Roll
Friday- Orange Ginger Grilled Chicken with simplfied fried rice
Saturday- leftovers/Frozen Pizza
Sunday- ??/??

This week seemed super hard to plan for but I don't know why.  I usually start at the beginning of the month and plot out the whole month so things are a little spaced out so that we aren't eating grilled chicken every day :)  Since I got the chicken later and cut it up, I had to do a little figuring while I was preparing the chicken for the freezer.  The flexiblity was just too much for me!!  I guess I have gotten really used to the meal plan and working with what we have in the house.  Plus we were out of ground beef so it was hard to put things in the middle of the plan that weren't also chicken :)  Here is what I think that we are going to have but I guess it is subject to change this week.  Hope that you have a great week!!!

Weekly Goals 8/12

We had a busy week with lots to do!!  We went to the mall to get my son's feet measured to get some new shoes but they didn't have what we were looking for.  My son got his first professional haircut this week and he looks like such a big boy now and ready for school.  I lost/had stolen my husbands ipad when I was grocery shopping.  With my mom and dad in town and lots of errands to run and Super Doubles, I am ready for an easy week next week!!! Here is hoping that you had a more relaxing week and are planning for a good week ahead!!

Last Week:

Family Goals

• Spend time with my extended family- My parents came into town on Tuesday so we had an extended visit with them and lots of things to get done in a short time.
• Go to donate at NVFS- Done!  I told my son that I would take him for a special treat after since Bob Evans is right in front of NVFS so we used his summer book reading coupon and got free kids pancakes.  We were in and out in 15 minutes so it was a quick trip.  The host gave us our menu, crayons and straw.  The waitress came over and I ordered immediately.  We would have been out of there faster if I remembered to ask for the box and the check when she was there the first time!  There is a reason why we don't go to restaurants very much :)
• Go to preschool science ABC- The library really did some great programs this summer and with the great variety, it seemed like we were doing lots of fun classes but at the frugal price of free.  This presenter was great with the kids and really kept them interested. I don't know where else the Mad Scientist does events but they have a cool website and you can see if they are near you :) 
• Go to Music Together- A music class with grandma in town... what could be better.  The teacher not to get sick :(  It was cancelled so we went to the park instead to play with some friends.
• Go to Movies based on books at library- Curious George Rides A Bike and Blueberries for Sal- what could be better!  We love our movies at the library!!  We also got to get some more books and DVDs.

Personal Goals

• Cut coupons (luckily only two this week)- Done!  I finished on Sunday while sitting at the table with my family talking :)
• Shut off computer 6 nights to save energy- I started off the week by being so tired that I went to bed early and didn't shut off the computer.  Oops!  I even shut it off through most of the day one day and turned it off to rest while we were gone for the day.
• Read Almost Amish: A Novel by Kathryn Cushman- Done and you will see the review shortly.  Started on my next book which I will finish next week.

Home Management Goals

• Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 5 days of the week- I got the kitchen cleaned up every day just in time to make it dirty again.  It was a busy kitchen :) 
• Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning- It was really hard for me to do with company.  I usually washed everything and loaded the dishwasher to run at the end of the night.  I washed everything else in the morning while I was loading the dishwasher again.  It was a constant state of messy in the kitchen.  I did wash everything as I went on Friday night so I am going to call this a win even though there are still some dishes to go into the dishwasher when it is done running.

Blog Goals

• Post one post everyday- Done
• Schedule at least 7 posts so that can spend more time with family- Done.  I posted most of the week except the trips to the store ahead of time. 
• Review book reviews completed during the week- Done 
• Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip- Done

This Week:

Family Goals

• Spend time with my family
• Storytime and Rhyme at library
• Go to the pool
• Go to Movies based on books at library

Personal Goals

• Cut coupons 
• Shut off computer 6 nights to save energy
• Read Nothing to Hide (A Roland March Mystery) by J. Mark Bertrand

Home Management Goals

• Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 5 days of the week
• Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning

Blog Goals

• Post one post everyday
• Schedule at least 7 posts so that can spend more time with family
• Review book reviews completed during the week
• Post Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, and Thrifty Thursday Tip

Harris Teeter Shopping Trip #4

Back to my semi-healthy shopping trip and stocking up on the cereal.  I got the great Evic special of the General Mills cereal at $1.97 each (limit 4) and used the $0.60 coupons from the Pillsbury website (and had the $0.50 Evic coupon for the Cinnamon Toast Crunch).  Three more Krave cereals for good measure for $0.59 each.  I got 4 boxes of Dinosaur Egg Oatmeal (using the $1/2 any Quaker product) for my son so I hope that he likes them for a filling meal before school.  I got Smart Balance Oil which was on sale for $3.99 and I had a printed coupon from awhile ago for $0.75 any Smart balance (from their website) it is made a good deal for the big sized oil.

I used a rain check to get the Smart Balance milk for free.  I also got the Damp Rid, Cover Girl Powder Puffs, and Gerber Yogurt Melts for free.

Total OOP $14.54
Total Savings $69.76