Hello everyone. If you follow me on Instagram, you might have seen some of the “behind the scenes” going on on Frugal Coupon Living. Everything from travel, to adventures, to my family, to what I am reading, and more!
Adventures in DC:
First, we went through an incredible Blizzard this year. I thought it would NEVER stop snowing. We got upwards of three feet and the kids were out of school 2 weeks. Having just moved this summer from Florida to Virginia, this was a new experience for us. I have sat through many of hurricanes and never prepped. For the Blizzard, I had so much food in the house, I filled the bath tubs and had batteries and flashlights near. One thing that was very different than the typical rain storms I experienced is the work that snow brings. A lot of shoveling and salting. It took me an entire day to dig two SUVs out of the snow. I also had to keep our dryer exhaust and HVAC constantly clean so I was shoveling every few hours to keep them clear.
Sweet girl played piano today at a Senior Living Facility… I love the reflection of her audience in the piano. #youngandold
A photo posted by Ashley Recio Langston (@frugalcouponliving) on
Feb 6, 2016 at 1:14pm PST
Second, my sweet little lady captivated me at her Piano Concert. She has only been playing since September and she is learning so quickly. She is even composing her own songs which is fun to see. We were very touched at her last concert where she playing for a nursing home. How amazing is the reflection of her audience in the piano?
What I Am Reading:
I am a big fan of Audible (via Amazon). I listen to my books when I fall asleep and sometimes when I drive. This gives me time to read as sitting down to open a book is impossible.
All Dressed in White
The second thrilling novel in the New York Times best-selling Under Suspicion series, following The Cinderella Murder, featuring intrepid television producer Laurie Moran as she investigates the case of a missing bride. Five years ago Amanda Pierce was excitedly preparing to marry her college sweetheart in a lavish ceremony at The Breakers in Palm Beach. Then, with their guests and families onsite, Amanda disappeared. In present-day New York City, Laurie Moran realizes a missing bride is the perfect cold case for her investigative television series, Under Suspicion. She and her team set out to recreate the night of the disappearance at the Florida resort with Amanda’s friends and family in attendance, hoping to shed new light on the mystery, as the series has done in past episodes. With a jealous sister, playboy groomsmen, Amanda’s former fiancé now married to a bridesmaid, and rumors about the “beloved” bride herself, Laurie and Under Suspicion host Alex Buckley quickly realize everyone has a theory about why Amanda vanished into thin air. One thing is certain: Whoever was behind Amanda’s disappearance plans to keep the truth hidden “until death do they part”.
My Storyby Elizabeth Smart. This was a hard read. There were times I was bawling with tears. I actually learned a lot from Elizabeth Smart’s perspective – it CAN get worse and be grateful in the present situation. How can a young, kidnapped girl come to that conclusion? Smart is a powerful, strong, encouraging young woman!
For the first time, 10 years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime. On June 5, 2002, 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life. Now for the first time, in her memoir, My Story, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served. In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In 2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine.
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. Thi s was a good, light-hearted read. It’s a book where all the stories blend together at the end of the novel. It’s the same author as The Husband’s Secret and written in much the same style.
Pirriwee Public’s annual school Trivia Night has ended in a shocking riot. One parent is dead. The school principal is horrified. As police investigate what appears to have been a tragic accident, signs begin to indicate that this devastating death might have been cold-blooded murder. In this thought-provoking novel, number-one New York Times best-selling author Liane Moriarty deftly explores the reality of parenting and playground politics, ex-husbands and ex-wives, and fractured families. And in her pitch-perfect way, she shows us the truth about what really goes on behind closed suburban doors.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. Oh my goodness, captivating. It was a slow start but so gripping and emotional. It takes place in WWII in Nazi Occupied France. I am not sure I could be as strong as the two main characters!
In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are.
France, 1939. In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When a German captain requisitions Vianne’s home, she and her daughter must live with the enemy or lose everything. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates all around them, she is forced to make one impossible choice after another to keep her family alive. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. But when he betrays her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and never looks back, risking her life time and again to save others. With courage, grace and powerful insight, bestselling author Kristin Hannah captures the epic panorama of WWII and illuminates an intimate part of history seldom seen: the women’s war. The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France–a heartbreakingly beautiful novel that celebrates the resilience of the human spirit and the durability of women. It is a novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.
What I Am Watching/Listening To:
Making of a Murder: I have Netflix so of course I jumped on the same bandwagon as everyone else. If you are into crime and documentaries, which I am, it is interesting. I have to say, however, it is long and I can see how one sided the documentary is. I feel awful for Steven Avery’s first conviction, I can see how it appears the second case was handled incredibly poorly, but I likely have a different final opinion than most proactive Americans. I will let you make your final judgement on your own.
Serial Podcast: You know I love Audible, you know I love investigating a crime, so this was perfect for me. Serial has two seasons. The first season is about Adnan Syed, a high-school boy who is accused of murder in Baltimore, Maryland. The podcast series was so captivating the cases is being taken to court again for reconsideration. The second season is only about 6 weeks in, so yo it is not too late to start. The second season focuses on Bowe Bergdahland wow it is captivating. It is neat to see so much more about this case than what the media has portrayed or described. I really love the author, Sarah Koenig. She asks all the questions I would ask and more!
About Season 2: In May 2014, a U.S. Special Operations team in a Black Hawk helicopter landed in the hills of Afghanistan. Waiting for them were more than a dozen Taliban fighters and a tall American, who looked pale and out of sorts: Bowe Bergdahl. Bergdahl, a U.S. soldier, had been a prisoner of the Taliban for nearly five years, and now he was going home. President Obama announced Bergdahl’s return in the Rose Garden, with the soldier’s parents at his side. Bergdahl’s hometown of Hailey, Idaho, planned a big celebration to welcome him back. But then, within days—within hours of his rescue, in fact—public reaction to his return flipped. People started saying Bergdahl shouldn’t be celebrated. Some of the soldiers from his unit called him a deserter, a traitor. They said he had deliberately walked off their small outpost in eastern Afghanistan and into hostile territory. Hailey canceled its celebration. The army launched an investigation. Finally, in March, the military charged Bergdahl with two crimes, one of which carries the possibility of a life sentence. Through all of this, Bergdahl has been quiet. He hasn’t spoken to the press or done any interviews on TV. He’s been like a ghost at the center of a raucous fight. Now, in Season Two, we get to hear what he has to say.
13 Hours: My husband and I had a date night for this movie. It focuses on the true story of Benghazi. I really liked the movie, I hated all the fighting. The movie finally gave me a summary of what happened on September 11, 2012.
On Sept. 11, 2012, Islamic militants attack the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, killing Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and Sean Smith, an officer for the Foreign Service. Stationed less than one mile away are members (James Badge Dale, John Krasinski, Max Martini) of the Annex Security Team, former soldiers assigned to protect operatives and diplomats in the city. As the assault rages on, the six men engage the combatants in a fierce firefight to save the lives of the remaining Americans.
List it or Leave it: Okay, a twist from all my crime. I have been watching a lot of Love It or List It. My husband and I are trying to buy a home outside of the DC Area and everything is small and old – an way too expensive. This show is inspiring for every new home we go inside that is below my expectations.
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