OH NO SNOW !!!!

All week they have been talking in Connecticut about the possibility of snow. What's that you say? You don't believe it, well neither did I. At about 6pm tonight we looked outside and it was snowing. I hope this isn't a preview of what is in store for us thie winter.
Today was one of my son-in-laws birthdays. Earlier this week was my daughter over at www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com wedding anniversary. We decided that tomorrow after everyone gets home from work we would have a small get together and have some cake etc. I am really tired of the same old cold cut sandwiches so Mommy , me and Sissy, with ideas from Bobo have decided we want to try something different.I will update you in a day or 2 what we had and how delicious it came out, (we hope!)
I have started to read the book THE CHRISTMAS HOPE BY DONNA VANLIERE which I received free from www.booksneeze.com . I have not been able to put it down. I love her books. I'll let you know in a few days what I loved about it.
I really love to read!

BOOK REVIEW TIMELESS FRIENDSHIP BY MICHELLE LE BLANC

I just finished reading a book called Timeless Frienships by Michelle Le Blanc . I really enjoyed the book as it was written to show that a group of high school friends can endure through hardships and trials. This book although shows this , I felt it was a little to sad for me. There was too much suffering, death and accidents that seem to hit each member of this group. It lives up to it's title though and I could relate to some of the group members , but I had a hard time getting over some of the pages without wanting to sit and cry. I would have liked to see a little more happiness and not having to feel as if I was waiting for the next shoe to drop. It did however give me a chance to read a different kind of book than I ever have before. I also did find myself thinking back to my own experiences in high school. If that was the point of the book then I guess I really got the point.
This book was published by http://www.dorrancebookstore.com through their Dorrance Book Review team . I was provided this book free of charge. The opinions were all my own.

SHOP RITE DEALS AND OUR PERSONAL COUNTDOWN TO THE HOLIDAYS!

I am sorry that I keep talking about SHOP RITE but I can't seem to help myself. So I have to tell you if anyone says that the 4 week catalina deals are a waste of money tell them that they are missing out on some great buys. Three weeks ago SHOP RITE had a sale that gave you 4 $5.00 catalinas off of KRAFT AND NABISCO products for the next 4 weeks. Well guess what ? This week they had RITZ CRACKERS AND CHIPS AHOY COOKIES for $1.99 a box. These are both NABISCO products so I got them free ! Starting tomorrow they have NABISCO single serve cookies and crackers 12 pack for $2.99 each. So I can get 2 and only pay $1.00. These catalinas have been really great for me these past couple of weeks.





Today Bobo and Sissy came over and we took out Sissy's china tea set and Bobo's racing car set. They played for hours. Earlier they went to a Haunted House put on by Bobo's school and they had a ball. They even painted Sissy's nails. Bobo had fun in the Haunted House. Today is Auntie Icky http://www.dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/ and Uncle Mike's 6th Wedding Anniversary. We are probably going to wait until later on next week because Uncle Lala's Birthday is Thursday. This is the official start of our birthday anniversary countdown to Christmas. In less than 2 weeks are Great Nana and Great Pops Anniversary , a week later Great Nana's birthday , another week Mommy's birthday , 3 days later Nana's birthday and the next day Aunt Lisa's birthday. The same week as Thanksgiving. A week later is Mommy's brother . It would have been Poppies birthday the next week but we lost him a year ago. Then 2 weeks later we are at Christmas. When people tell me they have trouble Christmas shopping they have no idea! We have birthdays every week sometimes 2 . Who has time to think about Christmas shopping ?


All kidding aside I wouldn't want it anyway. We have great excuses to stop enjoy and celebrate with all of the family before Thankgiving and Christmas. I wouldn't want it any other way !

SHOP RITE JUST GETS BETTER AND BETTER

We are now in the 3rd week of the promotion which gave 4 $5.00 catalinas for your next 4 weeks of shopping. The catalinas are for Kraft and or Nabisco products. Guess what? This week they have Ritz Crackers and Nabisco Chips Ahoy cookies for $1.99 each. I will be able to buy one of each or 2 of the same for free. I can also buy 3 and owe just under $1.00!
Catalinas are a great way to buy something that you really need but there are no coupons for them.
When I made supper tonight I had to think fast. We had already taken 2 pork steaks out of the freezer. I rinsed them off with cold water and put PLANKO bread crumbs in a baggie. I put the pork in and shook them until the were coated. Then I put them on a cookie sheet. I sprinkled a little dill seasoning on them and then I sprinkled some balsamic vinegar on them. I put them in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 1 and 1/4 hours. These have the reputation for not being a soft meat. but when they were cooked like this they were delicious. The other time I cooked these I put them in a crock pot. They were more tender in the crock pot but it took longer to cook and I did not have the time to cook them that way this time.
I was really a little upset this past week when I went into a store and they were putting all of their Christmas items out. I really wish that Sissy and Bobo were able to enjoy Halloween and Thanksgiving before they get entranced with Christmas. In my opinion we are moving to fast and we need to slow down and enjoy every moment we have with our friends and family.

DEALS AT SHOP RITE , AND STOP & SHOP THIS WEEK AND END OF SUMMER

I was hoping to have a slow week shopping this week but the deals at SHOP RITE and Stop and Shop just keep coming. At SHOP RITE this week they have SCHICK HYDRO 3 Razor for $2.99 each. There was a coupon in the insert this week for $2.00 off one. So you pay just $.99. The COVER GIRL COSMETICS are 50% off selected varieties. They are starting at $1.64. I am not sure of the face products that you could use the 2 for $8.00 coupon in last weeks paper but you could still use the $1.00 one that we got a few weeks ago. I used all of my 2 for $8.00 coupons this past week when this store has face blush for $3.99 each so I got them free !I could go on and on. It is a great week to stock up.

I am also really excited that STOP AND SHOP has a fill your freezer deal . When you buy any 6 participating products you get $5.00 off instantly . I am still trying to fill up my freezer after I lost it all when we had the hurricane awhile back.

I still want to make another trip to the cider mills and orchards in the area to get the last of the fresh fruits and vegetables. I love the smell of cakes and pies cooking during the fall. I don't know why but for some reason I have always been rejuvenated in the fall. I love the warm days and crisp nights. I love to have the children get excited over Halloween and the holidays. Mommy and I are trying to teach Sissy and Bobo how much fun and learning it can be in the kitchen. The only problem is that Sissy likes to cook but Bobo only like to eat . I guess maybe someday they will learn to like both. They are still in the process of deciding what they want to be for Halloween.

The Farmer's Almanac is saying that we are going to have more snow than we did last year. Well here's one New Englander who is not at all happy about this. I always worry about all of our family members that have to go to work. Hopefully school will be cancelled when they are forecasting a storm. There were many times when Mommy and her brother and sisters were in school that I decided to keep them home. Almost everytime they were dismissed early and other parents had a lot of trouble getting their children home or spending time worrying about them being on the bus. I have always believed that I, as the parent could and should rely on my own instincts and decide to not send them to school if I think it is wrong decision to have school.

As a former Board of Education member I have always tried to get more parental involvement in our schools

GOING CRAZY FOR SHOP RITE DEALS THIS WEEK

Oh my gosh I have not had time to post on this blog because I have trying to go to the SHOP RITE GROCERY STORE as many times as I can because there are some shoppers who wipe out the shelves of the specials and leave nothing for others. I have gone more than once because I have not been able to find the items to get the deals the last 3 times that I have gone to the store. I have 2 in my area and I still cannot find them. I have been able though to get free gravy and free COVER GIRL BLUSH. There was coupon 2 weeks ago that said buy 2 COVER GIRL FACE ITEMS and get $8.00 off. The blush is $3.99 each so you get them both free.
I am going to try again tomorrow afternoon and see what I can score. If you have A SHOP RITE in your area going to their store this week is certainly worth the trip!

FREE GRAVY AT SHOPRITE THIS WEEK

We went to SHOPRITE today to use the first of 4 weekly $5.00 catalinas that we received when we bought items last week/ The catalina says that you have to use the $5.00 on a Kraft or Nabisco item. They had Kraft packaged cheese 2 for $4.00 this week. We bought 2 packages and 1 package of cream cheese.
I guess we will be doing a lot of shopping this week at SHOPRITE . There is a catalina deal that if you buy 5 certain Heinz items you get $5.00 on your shopping trip/ There is a deal that will make you actually make a few cents on the deal. Heinz gravy is $.99 each this week. Buy 5 for $4.95 . Then get a $5.00 catalina back. Who doesn't like free gravy? There are also a few other items that you can mix and match to take advantage of this deal. We also have the $5.00 catalina this week to use on Kraft and or Nabisco items.

CHEAP PILLSBURY CAKE MIXES AT STOP AND SHOP

When I read in the flyer for STOP AND SHOP GROCERY store this week that there was a special section with mostly baking products on sale we got really excited. The ad said that if you buy any 10 of the listed items you would get $5.00 back instantly with your STOP AND SHOP card. I needed cake mixes because we really like to bake in the cooler months. The PILLSBURY CAKE MIXES were 10 for $10. So that is actually $1.00 each. When I checked the dates they were good till December 2012. I went to the register and when the cashier hit the total button they were only $5.00. We were able to get 10 cake mixes for $.50 each. It has been a long time since I have seen these that cheap without coupons.

Today Mommy used some of the apples that we bought on Sunday. She made apple butter which had to cook for 10 hours in the crock pot. We cannot wait to see how it comes out when we cool it overnight. She also made apple pies and applesauce. Sissy was helping Mommy cook while Bobo was in school when Nana came over. Nana remembered that when Mommy and her brother and sisters were little she sent away for a children's recipe booklet that got so tattered she didn't remember what had happened to it. But, Nana remembered that it had regular size recipes and small recipes versions. We decided to try to duplicate what Mommy and Nana made when she was little. We took PILLSBURY REDI-CRUST and rolled it out. Mommy had small 5 inch non stick pans. We sprayed them with PAM and put the pan upside down. We went around the pan and cut the dough as we were doing this. We took some apples that Mommy had already cut and prepared for one of her pies and cut them into smaller pieces. We were able to get 6 small mini pies or pie tarts as some people like to call them. We had saved some of the pie crust and we cut it in small strips. We did a criss-cross lattice on the top of the pies. Then we cooked them until the crusts were a little browned. Wow they were delicious. The best part was that Mommy was carrying on the tradition with Sissy !

OUR FAMILY TRIP TO GET PUMPKINS AND MORE

We had really planned to go to PUMPKINTOWN U.S.A. on Sunday but the weather did not cooperate. So we decided to go to another orchard near our house instead. It really turned into a family day. All of Nana's children and grandchildren came. All of the in-laws came too. Even Nana's brother and sister came. We bought pumpkins, apples, pears, apple butter , pumpkin butter and apple cider. We were very excited when baskets of Paula Red apples said $10.00 a basket buy one get one free. We bought 6 baskets altogether paid for 3. Then we went to Mommy's house and let the kids separate them for each family.


This is such a great way to save money. Mommy makes great apple pies. Nana makes apple crisp. She is not able to make good pies. Nana has found tons of uses for the apples. We love to use them in fall cooking, and put them in the crockpot with chicken and pork. They make a great sauce and add a great flavor to the meal.


Then we stopped at another cider mill on the way home and pulled the kids in a wagon to look for more pumpkins. Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. When we went back to Mommy's, Bobo's and Sissy's we made pasta, with Mommy's homemade sauce and salad. Then we had 2 cakes to celebrate 2 birthdays within 2 weeks of each other.


Fall in our family signals a start to 8 birthdays before CHRISTMAS. Nana has always tried to teach the kids to buy presents all year long. You can get some great presents really get ones you like and save some money along the way. We also save gift bags and use them again and again. Some of these are really beautiful.


We all missed Poppie every minute that day. He so loved Halloween. I know he was there in spirit.