Book Review ~ Women of Justice Series

I love murder mysteries. Totally love them. So, when I look for a good murder mystery, it has got to have all the elements: complex characters, roller coaster twists and heart stopping turns and who-dun-its that will surprise the heck out of you. Sitting down to read the Women of Justice Series by Lynette Eason gave me all that and more.

If you love fast-paced, amazingly written murder mysteries, then look no further than this worthy crime suspense. You will be swept away into a whirlwind of action and crime, following sisters Samantha, Jamie, & Kit and the rest of their teams as they hunt down the killer of innocent people in a small Indiana town.

Women of Justice Series ~ Book #1 Too Close To Home

Samantha Cash is the F.B.I.’s secret weapon. Her methods are invisible, and she never stops until the case is closed. When missing teens begin turning up dead in a small Southern town, Samantha is assigned to help local chief Connor Wolfe find the killer. And he has two problems with that. There’s her faith in God and herself. And then there’s the fact that she looks exactly like his late wife. As they get close to an answer, the case becomes personal. The killer seems to be taking an interest in Connor’s 16 year old daughter, who thinks her dad is getting way too protective. Can’t a girl just have some fun? Too Close to Home ratchets up the suspense with each page, and will have readers cheering for the characters they love as justice is served and love grows even in the face of danger. Read this one with the lights on!

Too Close to Home is a suspense thriller intended primarily for a Christian audience. Though the religious element is present, many readers will welcome the fact that the book is written without resorting to objectionable and offensive language. Individually, the characters are nicely drawn, but their interpersonal relationships ~ in particular those of the lead characters ~ often seem somewhat unrealistic, lacking real-life credibility. Still, the story is fast-paced, the plot well accomplished with references to modern technology and the role it plays in both committing and solving crimes.

Women of Justice ~ Book #2 Don’t Look Back

One man lives to see her dead—the other is fighting to keep her alive. Twelve years ago, forensic anthropologist Jamie Cash survived a brutal kidnapping. After years of therapy, she has made a life for herself—though one that is haunted by memories of her terrifying past. She finally lets herself believe that she can have a close relationship with a man, when signs start appearing that point to one frightening fact ~ her attacker is back and ready to finish the job he started all those years ago. Can she escape his grasp a second time? And will she ever be able to let down her guard enough to find true love?

Don't Look Back is an intense novel, pulling you into its twists and turns to hold you there until the very last page.  Definitely.not a book to be read late at night if one expects to sleep. The characters are richly drawn and draw the reader in, as if they're part of the action as well. The strongly developed plot races forward, ever fearful but also ever hopeful. This is a solid sequel to the first book in the series, and will have readers anxiously awaiting the next.

Women of Justice Series ~ Book #3 A Killer Among Us

Kit Kenyon is a first-rate hostage negotiator. Noah Lambert is a good detective with excellent instincts. The new partners have hardly had time to get used to each other when they are thrown into a grisly murder case. As evidence mounts up and more victims are found, Kit and Noah realize they are on the hunt for a serial killer. The problem is, he’s hunting one of them too. With nail-biting suspense, clever plot twists, and a hint of sweet romance, it will keep readers up late as they race to discover the killer–and whether Kit and Noah will live to tell about it.

A Killer Among Us is a fairly typical serial killer novel, but the story here is focused more on the detectives and their relationship with each other. They have an immediate bond as detective partners, which quickly develops into mutual trust and then romance. But Kit, trained as a hostage negotiator and very good at her job, has a hard time reconciling some of her own personal issues, something Noah tries to work with her to resolve. The twisty murder mystery story line plays out well, and the small college town setting offers an interesting contrast to the horror of the crimes.

I found all three novels were written with heart-stopping suspense, gritty realism, and a touch of romance, and having certain common elements in each of them. If you appreciate character and story-driven suspense novels that are also written without any coarse language you will enjoy these books.

You’re sure to be hooked from the beginning, and if you’re like me, you're trapped until you turn the very last page.

Take Care

mhmm monday

Chicken is perhaps our most favourite dish hands down.  And when you add ooey-gooey cheesy sauce filled bliss - this Chicken Parm is simply delish! It's a scrumptious, easy meal that is easy enough to prepare for a crowd and completely versatile.

Stuffed Chicken Parmesan 

{photo credit and website}

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts,
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1 cup pasta sauce 
1-2 cloves garlic, diced 
basil, to taste 
salt, pepper, to taste

Directions:
Carefully slice chicken breasts in half, keeping them in-tact, so they open like a butterfly.
Salt and pepper liberally, add garlic (if you like extra garlicky chicken parm, you can add as much as 2 cloves per chicken breast!)
Add sauce and cheeses, as well as some chopped basil (I put in whole basil leaves- but that is up to you and how much basil you like.)
Wrap in foil and bake at 350 for 15 minutes.
Open foil pouch and add a handful of cheese to the top.
Continue baking with foil open for another 15 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked and juices run clear.
Top with additional chopped basil and enjoy!
Enjoy!

Take Care

G.P.S

Do you have a G.P.S. in your car? 

G.P.S. stands for "global positioning system" or so I am told. All you have to do is punch in the address where you want to go and the G.P.S. takes over and provides you with driving instructions. 

A lot of the newer cars have a G.P.S. built right in.  Ours was hand-me down that my parents gave us when they decided it was time for an upgrade, and I have really appreciated having it on trips that we make by car. Sure it was older but hey, it still worked.

I am not one much for traveling.  In fact I‘ll stay home for days on end not seeing another soul, and you know what - I am totally ok with that!   But the hubs decided we were taking a holiday.  And rather than fly to our usual Caribbean destination, he decided we were going to drive to Florida. Um, hello? Did you say drive? To say I was afraid was an understatement.  I mean what if we got lost?

Since he added another job to his repertoire; he’d been running full tilt since January. Thankfully it’s only for a short time.  But for now there’s scarcely been a week where he hasn’t had overtime.

He was tired. 

And he knew needed a break.  So he planned for much needed and quite possibly overdue holiday to Florida.

Thankfully we had our G.P.S., a Google map print out, the "Along the I-75" book, road side assistance and a cell phone.  So we were set. And while the drive was long, our holiday was a time where we were refreshed and rebuilt. Encouraged and rested. Spending time together whether we were in the car, stopping at rest areas, dining in many-a restaurants, being together ~ that’s what refreshed us.

The craziness of driving to and from Florida wasn’t as scary as I had envisioned it to be, it was a break that was greatly needed.

Take Care

Thankful Thursdays

…and so we continue counting the things we are thankful for…

80. max lucado books
81. hot chocolate
82. sunday morning sermons
83. washing machines 
84. sunshine
85. bailey’s irish cream in coffee
86. fresh baked cookies

Will you join me as we begin to be truly thankful for each day, and for each opportunity given to us, and who knows? we might just see how truly blessed we really are.

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! 

Take Care

tasty tuesday

Craving a Cookie???

There is nothing easier than cake mix cookies ~ and these are downright delish!

Chocolate Fudge M&M Cookies

{photo credit and website}

Ingredients: 
1 box Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix {15.25 oz.} 
1 1/4 cups Mini M&M’s 
2 eggs 
1/2 cup Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil 

Directions:
Combine cake mix, eggs, and oil in large mixing bowl, and beat well. 
Stir in Mini M&M’s. 
Chill dough in refrigerator for approx. 45 minutes. 
Drop onto ungreased non-stick cookie sheet in rounded balls. 
Bake for approx. 8 – 9 minutes {or until done} at 350 degrees. 
Enjoy!

Take Care

Home Sweet Home

After a wonderful relaxing holiday in Florida.

The hubs and I made it home on Friday.

Now to be honest, I did enjoy our time there, but the l-o-o-o-ng drive to get there and return home was…… well long!

While it was good to get away, I am glad to be home again.

Take Care

Spring ?!?

According to timeanddate.com March Equinox is today {Friday, March 20, 2015} at 6:45 PM. It's the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator {the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator} from south to north. On the equinox, night and day are nearly exactly the same length ~ 12 hours ~ all over the world. This is the reason it's called an “equinox”, derived from Latin, meaning "equal night". 

Which really means the days are getting longer. {Yay!}

It may not seem like it, but they are…

That’s good news in my book.

Some more good news for the day,  winter is officially behind us and Spring has sprung!

“This is the day the Lord has made. 

We will rejoice and be glad in it.”  

Psalm 118:24 {New Living Translation {NLT}

God desires for us to live each day. To rejoice in all that each day holds. To be thankful for His provision and what He puts before us. We are to give thanks for each day and to face them with intention, making the most of them.

Sometimes all it takes is a different perspective.

How about you? What do you do to celebrate the "first day of spring"?

Take Care

Thankful Thursdays

…and so we continue counting the things we are thankful for…

73. holiday time with the hubs
74. puppy-sitters
75. journaling
76. novels
77. corona beer
78. cupcakes 
79. swimming pools

Will you join me as we begin to be truly thankful for each day, and for each opportunity given to us, and who knows? we might just see how truly blessed we really are.

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! 

Take Care

Book Review ~ Necessary Lies

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain, tells the story of two women, seemingly worlds apart, but both haunted by tragedy.

Set in North Carolina in the early ‘60’s, we meet Ivy Hart and Jane Forrester, two women who couldn’t be more different.

After losing her parents, 15 year-old Ivy Hart is left to care for her grandmother, older sister and nephew as tenants on a small tobacco farm. As she struggles to keep what is left of her family intact, with her grandmother’s aging, her sister’s mental illness and her own epilepsy, she realizes they might need more than she can give.

Against the wishes of her doctor husband, Jane Forrester, a recent college graduate, has taken a takes a position in Raleigh as Grace County’s newest social worker with the Department of Public Welfare.   No one understands why Jane would want to become a caseworker for the Department of Public Health when she could be a housewife and Junior League member.

As she quickly becomes emotionally invested in her clients’ lives, she doesn’t realize just how much her help is needed and the tension it causes with her boss and her new husband.  Jane soon finds herself in an ethical quagmire.  But as she is drawn in by the Hart women, she begins to discover the secrets of the small farm. Secrets much darker than she would have guessed. Unless Jane is willing to buck the system at the expense of her career, she must decide whether to take drastic action to help them, or risk losing the battle against everything she believes is wrong.

Jane and Ivy are thrown together and must ask themselves: how can you know what you believe is right, when everyone is telling you it’s wrong?

This novel take a sensitive subject and makes you wonder what is the right thing to do.

Take Care

mhmm monday

French Toast Bake

{photo credit & recipe website}

Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted butter
2 cans (12.4 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated cinnamon rolls with icing
5 eggs
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
3/4 cup maple syrup
Garnish
Icing from cinnamon rolls
Powdered sugar
Maple syrup, if desired

Directions:
Melt butter and pour on ungreased 13×9 inch glass dish. Separate cans of dough into 16 rolls reserving the icing for later use. Cut each roll into 8 pieces and add to buttered baking dish.
Beat eggs in medium bowl. Add cream, cinnamon and vanilla and beat until well blended. Pour over cut pieces of cinnamon roll pieces. 
Sprinkle with pecans and drizzle 3/4 cup syrup over the top. Bake at 375 for 20 to 28 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. 
Remove the covers from icing and microwave on medium or 50% power for 10 to 15 seconds. (Should be thin enough to drizzle.) Drizzle icing over the top. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with syrup if desired. 
Enjoy!

Take Care

Reading

Can I be honest here?  I mean we’re all friends, right? I have always loved to read. As a kid, my favourite thing to do was to find a quiet corner and lose myself in a book for hours on end. Sure it was nerdy but it was always an exciting way to go on an adventure. Open a book and you can travel the world! To be honest, not much has changed now that I am an adult.  I still love to read.

What I love most about books is …
discovering them
curling up with them
getting lost in them, and then sometimes found
inspiration that sparks action
finding one sentence that lingers for days

I would have made such a great librarian… but I guess I’ll just have to reconcile myself and take the opportunity to wander up and down the rows of books for hours at a time, pulling out the ones I want to check out and take home.

The only way to deal with this world of SO MANY BOOKS is {obviously} to make a reading list.   Which do you prefer fiction or non-fiction ? My preference is definitely fiction, hands down, no contest.  The joy of books isn’t found in organizing them alphabetically, storing them on shelves or in boxes, or moving them from home to home. The joy is in the words, on the pages and in the hearts of authors and readers.

A couple years ago,  I accepted this challenge and accomplished it wa-a-a-y ahead of schedule , so I did this.  And then, at the beginning of last year, I’d hoped to read 150 books in the year but sadly I didn’t quite meet it, however, I am not giving up…

26 Worst Things That Can Happen To A Book Lover
1. Lending a book to a friend and getting it back ruined.
2. Lending a book to a friend and not getting it back at all.
3. Getting on the train and realizing you left your book at home.
4. Losing your book, especially if you’re close to finishing it.
5. Sitting next to someone who keeps talking to you even though you are clearly reading.
6. Finding out your favourite book is being turned into a movie and knowing it will probably be terrible.
7. Realizing the book you’ve been LOVING has a crap ending.
8. Your favourite character dying.
9. Finding out you were carrying your book in the same bag as a leaky water bottle.
10. Accidentally dropping your book in the bath or pool or whatever body of water you were lounging and reading in.
11. Having your bedside lamp go out when you’re already in bed, reading.
12. Hearing someone talk about the ending of a book you just started.
13. Realizing you hate a book two-thirds of the way through it and then struggling through the rest because you won’t let it win.
14. Realizing your fave is finally falling to pieces because you’ve read it about 30 times.
15. Getting to a cliff-hanger right as your work break is ending or your stop is coming up.
16. Being asked what your favourite book is, as if there’s just one.
17. Reading a paragraph ahead and spoiling a huge plot line for yourself.
18. Recommending a book to a friend and they just won’t do it???
19. Recommending a book to a friend and finding out they didn’t like it.
20. Spilling food or drink on the page.
21. Rereading a book you used to love and realizing it’s…not as good as you remembered.
22. Breaking up with someone and realizing they still have some of your books.
23. Crushing on someone who ruins it by saying, “I only read books by men.”
24. Moving.
25. Coming to the end of a book you really, really loved.
26. Generally just being forced to do anything that isn’t reading.

I love books. Perhaps, a little too much…  because if any of these happened, I know I’d be livid!

What’s on YOUR 2015 reading list?

Take Care

Thankful Thursdays

…and so we continue counting the things we are thankful for…

66. family dinners
67. road trips
68. fresh-squeezed orange juice
69. flip flops
70. swimming pools
71. walking along the beach
72. florida sunshine

Will you join me as we begin to be truly thankful for each day, and for each opportunity given to us, and who knows? we might just see how truly blessed we really are.

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! 

Take Care

tasty tuesday

The easiest potatoes you can make right in the crockpot ~ perfectly tender, flavourful and cheesy!

Slow Cooker Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes 

{photo credit and website}

Ingredients: 
6 slices bacon 
3 pounds red potatoes, chopped 
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided 
1 tablespoon Ranch Seasoning and Salad Dressing Mix 
2 tablespoons chopped chives

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. 
Spread bacon in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake until brown and crispy, about 12-14 minutes. Let cool before crumbling; set aside. 
Line a slow cooker with aluminum foil, leaving enough to overhang to wrap the potatoes on top, and coat with nonstick spray. Place a layer of potatoes evenly into the slow cooker. Top with cheese, Ranch Seasoning and bacon, repeating 2 more times and reserving 1/2 cup cheese. 
Cover potatoes with aluminum foil and cook on low heat for 7-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Cover and cook until melted, about 1-2 minutes. 
Serve immediately, garnished with chives.
Enjoy!

Take Care

Holiday Time

♪♫♫♪♪ All our bags are packed and we`re ready to go… ♪♪♫♫♪

Off for some sun, surf and sand holidays with the hubs, see you when we return.  Don`t worry, I have some post lined up in the queue ready to publish.

Take Care

Take a Break

I've been struggling with my on-again, off-again relationship with social media for some time now.  Last year, you’ll remember after much consideration, I decided that it was best to take a set time and take a break.

For the first couple of weeks I was away from Facebook, it was great. I really enjoyed being away from the social site, and didn’t care one bit about it. I really didn’t even give it a second thought. Until…

It’s amazing how quickly it can suck you back in! At first, you are just “checking in” on friends or family … and before you know it, you’ve spent an hour just reading status updates and looking at pictures! Facebook wastes SO much precious time!

And it’s not just Facebook either ~ I get sucked into the world of Blogger, Instagram, Pinterest… oh, so easily.

There are a LOT of things I like about Facebook/Instagram/Pinterest/Blogs. I like seeing updated pictures from my kids. I like being able to know what is going on in the lives of my friends. I like being kept in the loop of community events that are going on. I like all of that. However, the problem with on-line lifestyles is that we can be deceived into thinking that that’s real life. But it’s not. Too often I forget, that real life takes a little bit longer to develop.  I need to put the Internet back in its rightful place...

I love the Internet. I truly do. Perhaps a little too much!

What do you do when you know you should take a break?

Take Care

Thankful Thursdays

…and so we continue counting the things we are thankful for…

59. knitted infinity scarves
60. cinnamon scented candles
61. microwaves
62. pinterest ideas - recipes - outfits - quotes - shoes
63. fingernail polish
64. mandarin & honey {twinning’s} tea
65. g.p.s. 

Will you join me as we begin to be truly thankful for each day, and for each opportunity given to us, and who knows? we might just see how truly blessed we really are.

Because a thankful heart is a happy heart! 

Take Care

Book Review ~ Eyes Wide Open

Have you read any books by Ted Dekker? His books are a mixed bag of emotions. He writes some scary, freaky, sometimes outlandish stuff, and amazingly, he seems to be able to tie it all in with his Christian beliefs.

FROM THE BACK COVER:
Who am I? 
My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen and I'm about to die. 
I'm buried in a coffin under tons of concrete. No one knows where I am. My heart sounds like a monster with clobber feet, running straight toward me. I'm lying on my back, soaked with sweat from the hair on my head to the soles of my feet. My hands and feet won't stop shaking.
Some will say that I m not really here. Some will say I'm delusional. Some will say that I don t even exist. But who are they? I'm the one buried in a grave. 
My name is Christy Snow. I'm seventeen. I'm about to die. 
So who are you? 

It all started when Christy Snow lost her beloved locket in the basement of a hospital. In trying to retrieve it, she falls through the floor and lands herself in a predicament and can’t get out. She leaves a phone message for her friend, Austin Hartt, who sets out to find her. However, he also lands in the same predicament, which is being trapped inside a psychiatric hospital. You see, both of them are mistaken for a couple of patients. This starts the ride into what is really reality and what is truth. I do have to say that it made me a little uncomfortable thinking about being trapped in there and not being able to get out as no one believed their true identities.

Humming with intensity and blindsided twists, Eyes Wide Open consists of four parts Book 1: Identity, Book 2: Mirrors, Book 3: Unseen, and Book 4: Seer.  It’s a real page turner with cliff-hangers and plot twists around every corner.  Not all is as it seems. Or is it?  This is what Ted Dekker does best ... he gets you hooked and then he shoves something in there that will have you thinking about it for days after you read it.

Strap yourself in for the ride of your life. Literally.  The story kept me guessing from beginning to end, and I enjoyed every minute of it.  It was a very fast paced book I found the plot of this book to be very entertaining and thought provoking. I find the notion of this predicament to be highly enticing. In a way, we can all relate on some level with the situation that Christy & Austin find themselves in.

Overall, this was a good read.  It’s an allegorical approach that got me thinking about familiar concepts and ideas in new ways, which turned out to be a lot of fun.

Have you read ‘Eyes Wide Open? Tell me what you think!

Take Care

mhmm monday

These four ingredients pizza roll-ups are great for a quick snack, appetizers or even lunch!

Pepperoni and Cheese Crescents

{photo credit and recipe website}

Ingredients:
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
24 slices (about 5 oz.) pepperoni
2 oz. (1/2 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese {or use cheese strings cut in half}
1 cup tomato pasta or pizza sauce, heated 

Directions:
Heat oven to 375°F. Separate dough into 8 triangles; pat out each triangle slightly. 
Place 3 slices pepperoni, slightly overlapping, on center of each triangle. Top each with about 1 tablespoon cheese. 
Roll up, starting at shortest side of triangle and rolling to opposite point. Place rolls, point side down, on ungreased cookie sheet. 
Bake for 10 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet. Serve warm crescents with warm pasta sauce for dipping.
Enjoy!

Take Care