Walgreens and Sheetz Shopping!

The other night I realized I had $16 in Walgreen's Register Rewards that were going to expire that night.  So even though I've been sick, off I went.  For $35 (after my coupons) I got:

6 Fridge Packs of Diet Coke
3 Fridge Packs of Diet Root beer
2 cans Lay's Stackers
4 Cans Pringles
1 bag Bugles
1 bag tortilla chips
1 gallon of milk

I paid $35, and got another $10 back in Register Rewards, and will get $10 back in a mail-in rebate.

Then I stopped at Sheetz.

I got:

Chicken Salad Sub (free because I bought 10 subs previously)
Smoothie (free with a coupon I had purchased in a booklet from a fundraiser)
bottle of Aquafina water (their freebie of the month)

Of course, my grand total was nothing!  :)

Book Review: A Prairie as Wide as the Sea

A Prairie as Wide as the Sea: The Immigrant Diary of Ivy Weatherall, Milorie, Saskatchewan, 1926 by Sarah Ellis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is another in the "Dear Canada" series, and one of the best of Scholastic's "Dear" books I have read.  I really prefer this type of book when there is no war or other hardship, and this was a pleasant "Little House on the Prairie" type read filled with day to day adventures of ink freezing at the schoolhouse, preparing for Halloween, the Christmas program, and tales of Dot, her horse.

Ivy Weatherall comes to Canada from England, and there are plenty of adventures she encounters because of the language barrier even though she speaks English, she doesn't speak Canadian English. 

She wants her hair bobbed like is the current style, but she's told she is too young. 

Basically it's a wonderful book for 8-12 year olds set in 1926 Canada.  It's also a great afternoon read for an adult who enjoys historical fiction!

Weekend Mail Wrap-Up

This week was a slower mail week than usual for me, at least it seemed that way as I made my way to the mailbox each day.

Here's the breakdown of what I got in the mail this week:

Life Application Study Bible NLT (sent to me from Tyndale House for writing a blog post)

Relearning Jesus: How Reading the Beatitudes One More Time Changed My Faith (I ordered this.  I was revamping my Amazon Wish List and realized that this was about as cheap as a credit on Paperback Swap, so I decided to go ahead and order it.)

FOUR coupons for candy bars.  Too bad M&Ms and Snickers both have chocolate in them.  Since I've been in the hospital, chocolate tastes disgusting to me.  (Win)

$10 Dollar General gift card (win)

Toastabags Reusable Non-Stick Sandwich/Snack "In Toaster" Grilling Bags, 2 Pack (Ordered)  These are the most amazing things I'd never heard of until I had won some.  Now I always make my grilled cheese (one of my favorite foods) in the toaster using these!

Not a huge week of surprises in the mailbox, but still fun stuff.  As sick as I've been and as behind as I've gotten on sweepstakes entries I'm afraid I won't be having as many wins for a while.  Now, back to bed. . .  really been exhausted lately.

Five Minute Friday: Empty in Israel

Walking around Jerusalem, my friend had what I have come to realize as a profound statement.  When in Jerusalem, we were visiting the emptiness of the places around us.

The Garden Tomb?  We were not visiting the tomb as much as the significance of it being empty.  (In fact, I e-mailed my priest the next day I would have brought him a keepsake from inside the Garden Tomb except there was nothing in there.  He told me later the joke didn't dawn on him for a few days.)

The Western Wall?  Well, that's all that is left of the Temple.  The Western Wall wasn't why we were visiting that site, but the holy site that was destroyed.

Even when I visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial, the emptiness of the world because there were six million murders, that was what we were honoring.

The Mount of Olives was a defining moment of my trip.  Why?  Because I felt the emptiness in me beginning to be filled.

The emptiness around us is what we sometimes honor.  Be it an empty tomb, an empty world because people have died, or a missing building where God has been worshiped.

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1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

Flash Flood on a Mountain!

I live on top of a mountain.  In fact, our town's name translates literally as "Land High".  We rarely see flooding, but today was unusual.  Someone suggested it was because the ground was saturated from snow (although we hadn't had much of that this winter, either.)

I went to the kitchen this afternoon to pour myself another glass of iced tea and looked outside and this is what I saw!  There were some better photos posted by others on Facebook, but since I didn't take those, I didn't want to use them on my blog! It was unreal how much water was in town about a mile from here!

I think our basement is flooded.  I'd rather not look right now!

Book Review: Complete Idiot's Guide To Writing a Memoir

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Writing a Memoir by Victoria Costello

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to books. Anything that first insults my intelligence and then proceeds to teach me about something is not likely to end up on my bookshelf.

That said, I received a copy of this book to review, and who hasn't dreamed of writing a memoir or some type? I know I have, so I decided to see what it had to say.

What I found was a book that is great in helping you organize your ideas, pointing out what is important, what to leave out, and of course what to put in your story! It had pointers for how to handle dialogue. I know I enjoy well-written dialogue, but if it's not well written, I tend to skip over it. This is true not only for memoirs but for any book I read! There were suggestions on how to recreate a conversation that may have happened decades ago.

Of course there is basic writing tips such as plot and structure, as well as information on self-publishing, and even legal issues that can arise. (Thinking of writing a tell-all about your family? Might want to think again if they are still alive because it could be a lawsuit waiting to happen, but this book addresses the stickier issues you may not have considered.)

The quick prompts would be great for those who have less of an idea where they are going with their book. With the book I would like to write someday, I have it somewhat structured in my mind and they weren't as helpful to me. I did, however, find myself taking notes and jotting things down as they came to mind that I hope to add to my manuscript.

Overall, this is an excellent book and one I would recommend to anyone who is thinking of writing a memoir, even if it is just to give to your grandchildren!

FTC disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. In no way did that influence my opinion of the book.

In the hospital EIGHT days

I wanted to do a quick check in here on my blog.  I was in the hospital for a total of eight days this month, and sick for almost a week before I went in.  I had a bone infection and still on some pretty high powered antibiotics and still not feeling the best.  All in all, I think I was pretty lucky that it wasn't any worse than it was with all the infection.  I did lose two permanent teeth, but for as much infection as I had in me, I still consider that pretty lucky.  I never had anything that hurt that bad -- ever.  I'm still healing and may be a while before I blog too much.  But I'm mainly wanting to stay in bed, and I'll pick up a book and read for a little bit, so when I'm back to blogging there will be lots of book reviews to be posted!  :)