3 hours ago
I have read a few of Lis Wiehl's books before, and I've enjoyed every one I've read so far. A Deadly Business was no exception!
Mia Quinn is struggling to balance it all since her husband Scott died in a car crash months ago. But when she finds out his death may have been murder, and as she unravels some of Scott's deceptions, her life may be in danger as well.
I read the first book in the Mia Quinn series a couple years ago, so I was excited to read another book in this series. I could empathize with Mia's character as a mom, and I felt like her struggles to balance taking care of her children with her work life were believable.
Wiehl incorporates a couple different plots in this book, the investigation into Scott's murder, and a trial she is working on that involves three juveniles. I felt like the two plot lines were balanced really well, and both were interesting. There is also a subtle romantic triangle developing in the book, and I am curious to see how it plays out. I can't even decide who I want to root for because I thought all of the characters were likable (but I think I'm going with Charlie - we shall see).
The ending was exciting and not something I was expecting. Wiehl is great at suspense and knows how to write a good climax. I really enjoyed this book! I'm already looking forward to the next book in this series.
Note: I received this book for free from Booklook in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
If you have ever read any of Shaunti Feldhahn's books, you know they are based on surveys she conducts, and then she tells us the results in a book. That is the same way she wrote this book - she interviewed 1000 of the happiest married couples she found, and she shares their "secrets" in The Surprising Secrets Of Highly Happy Marriages.
As I was reading each chapter, it felt like I was having epiphany after epiphany. The book shares twelve of the "secrets" of the happiest couples, and I felt like each one was such good, commonsense advice. At the same time, a lot of the secrets weren't things that I had even thought about before.
I kept thinking of things that I could do better through each chapter, but what I liked best was that each of these tips is so doable. These aren't vague ideas, they are solid tips that are spelled out very clearly, and there are clear ways to apply them either in action or attitude. They are all relatively easy to apply as well - I like that! As the subtitle says, these are little things that I can already see would make a big difference in the level of happiness in marriage.
Shaunti recommends picking one or two secrets to work on at one time, instead of trying to do all of them at once, and I think that is good advice - I was trying to remember all of them through the first half of the book and quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to change everything all at once. So I picked two of the secrets - "Happy Couple Keep Score" and "Happy Couples Think They Hit The Jackpot". Those are the two I'm going to focus on for the first few weeks of trying to apply what I learned here. I think I'll probably have to write more posts about this - I'm definitely feeling inspired after reading this book. Who doesn't want to be as happy as possible in their marriage?
I also really appreciated how positive this book is about marriage - happy marriages aren't something you just have if you are lucky, in most cases it is something you can achieve with a little effort. I think this would be inspiring to couples who may be currently struggling, and encouraging and helpful to couples who want to make their marriages as good as they can be.
This is probably one of the best marriage books I have ever read. If you are married, or hope to be married someday, you should definitely check it out!
Read the first chapter here.
Note: I received this book in ebook and print format for free from Blogging For Books in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
As I was reading each chapter, it felt like I was having epiphany after epiphany. The book shares twelve of the "secrets" of the happiest couples, and I felt like each one was such good, commonsense advice. At the same time, a lot of the secrets weren't things that I had even thought about before.
I kept thinking of things that I could do better through each chapter, but what I liked best was that each of these tips is so doable. These aren't vague ideas, they are solid tips that are spelled out very clearly, and there are clear ways to apply them either in action or attitude. They are all relatively easy to apply as well - I like that! As the subtitle says, these are little things that I can already see would make a big difference in the level of happiness in marriage.
Shaunti recommends picking one or two secrets to work on at one time, instead of trying to do all of them at once, and I think that is good advice - I was trying to remember all of them through the first half of the book and quickly realized that I wouldn't be able to change everything all at once. So I picked two of the secrets - "Happy Couple Keep Score" and "Happy Couples Think They Hit The Jackpot". Those are the two I'm going to focus on for the first few weeks of trying to apply what I learned here. I think I'll probably have to write more posts about this - I'm definitely feeling inspired after reading this book. Who doesn't want to be as happy as possible in their marriage?
I also really appreciated how positive this book is about marriage - happy marriages aren't something you just have if you are lucky, in most cases it is something you can achieve with a little effort. I think this would be inspiring to couples who may be currently struggling, and encouraging and helpful to couples who want to make their marriages as good as they can be.
This is probably one of the best marriage books I have ever read. If you are married, or hope to be married someday, you should definitely check it out!
Read the first chapter here.
Note: I received this book in ebook and print format for free from Blogging For Books in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
In Undetected by Dee Hendreson, submarine commander Mark Bishop comes back from his three month patrol at sea to meet up with his friend's younger sister - "Gina the Genius". Gina Grey has been working on sonar science for most of her adult life, and she makes several new discoveries that can contribute to the safety - or the danger - of the submarines like the ones where Mark and her brother spend most of their time. As these discoveries are handled by the Navy she finds herself more in the company of Bishop, and feelings begin to grow.
I liked this book - it was interesting to read, and I was impressed with how much in-depth information Henderson included about submarines and sonar. She really seemed to know what she was talking about, and the breakthroughs that Gina discovers in the books were interesting. I found myself wondering if these were real discoveries or if Henderson had just made them up!
I liked the way the romance developed between the two main characters. I will say that I was somewhat annoyed with Mark's character during the first part of the book when Gina is dating someone else. He goes out of his way to be fair to the other guy, and I found myself getting irritated with him. Hasn't he ever heard of "it's all fair in love and war"? Go get the girl, don't be setting her up to spend more time with your rival! But I suppose it was honorable, and it all works out in the end anyway.
I enjoyed the way the plot and all of Gina's scientific discoveries came together in the end to avert a crisis - I thought it tied the whole book together nicely. The romance story was also finished off nicely at the end of the book. Henderson also cleverly inserted some characters from one of her previous books into this story, and now I'm curious to go back and read that one as well! I'm looking forward to reading more from this series!
Note: I received this book for free from Bethany House in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
After my unexpectedly quick labor with Gwen, I knew I wanted to give birth naturally with Clyde. I knew I could do it, and I liked how easy my recovery was after Gwen, so I felt it would be less complicated to give birth without an epidural this time around. However, I also knew that I did not want to go the midwife/birthing center route - I have a good relationship with my OB-GYN, and I feel more comfortable in a hospital.
In preparation for giving birth naturally in a hospital I read a lot on the subject, and it was somewhat disheartening. A lot of natural birth resources seem to imply that it is nearly impossible to have a successful natural birth in a hospital setting. I don't believe that. Does it take some strategizing? Yes, I think so. Is it impossible? Not at all!
I am definitely not a natural childbirth expert (I don't have any problem with epidurals). I am not a midwife or a doula, I didn't give birth naturally with all of my babies, my babies were all average-sized, and my labors are short. I have it easy in a lot of ways, and I am sure there are a lot of ladies who would have better advice than I'm going to list here. But I wanted to share the things that helped me. Everyone is different, and I want to share my experience in the hope that something here will be helpful to someone else!
With that said, here are my tips on things you can do to help improve your chances of having a successful natural birth in a hospital setting.
1. Pick your hospital carefully. Not everyone has the option of multiple hospitals, but if you do, I think it's important to pick one that seems natural-birth friendly. I had a choice between two hospitals with this birth. One of them focused on the number of births they had per year and focused on the fact that an anesthesiologist was available 24/7. The other had a pre-admission program where you could go over your birth plan with the nurses, and birthing balls, a jetted tub, and aroma therapy were available. I obviously chose to deliver at the second hospital. There was a clear difference between the two hospitals, and I'm not sure my natural birth would have happened, at least not as smoothly, at the first hospital.
2. Don't go in too soon. This was tricky for me, because as most of you know, I have a history of quick, unpredictable labors! But in my labor with Clyde, my contractions did slow down considerably in the middle. I chose to walk around outside the hospital for a little while to make sure things were progressing before I went in. If I had gone in right away and my contractions had slowed down in the hospital, I think there would have been more of a push for Pitocin. Making sure my labor was well-established was definitely a help.
3. Ask the nurses not to mention the epidural. I was afraid that in the thick of labor I might give in if someone tried to convince me to get the epidural. I told the nurses that I knew an epidural was available, but I would rather they not mention it to me - if I wanted it, I would ask for it. They respected my wishes, which was a big help to me.
4. Don't get stuck in bed. When I gave birth the first time I had to be induced, and one of the worst parts was being stuck in bed, strapped down with the monitors and IV. This time I asked for the wireless monitors so I could move around. They put in an IV, but they didn't have me hooked up to it during my labor. Not being constrained was huge for me.
5. Ask to avoid unnecessary cervical checks. It can be frustrating to hear a lower number than you were expecting, and it gives everyone a (sometimes) unnecessary worry. Unless my labor was excessively long, I decided to ask to avoid cervical checks altogether. I could tell when I was going through transition, so getting constant updates before that point would have been distracting and discouraging to me.
6. Try to relax and focus on things other than your labor. With both of my natural births I had distractions during labor, and it made my labors seem to go by so much faster. Sitting in the hospital focusing on your pain with no distractions is not fun. We watched movies during my labor, and it was such a nice diversion! If your hospital doesn't provide movies, bring your laptop and some DVDs. Choose something funny and make jokes - I think laughing kept things happy and it helped me to relax.
7. Remember that the medical staff is not the enemy. You chose to give birth in a hospital for a reason - maybe because of certain complications, or maybe because you wanted trained medical staff to be available in case there were complications. One of the books I read (Natural Hospital Birth by Cynthia Gabriel) said that in essence, you have hired the hospital staff to look for and treat any complications that arise - so you can't get upset when they try to do their job! Communicate your wishes, try to make sure they are on the same page that you are, get them on your team. Put your foot down if you have to, but try to do it in a nice way. Be flexible if a serious complication does arise. Remember that you chose to give birth in a hospital for a reason. It will go much smoother if you are friendly, and it will be a much better experience if you treat your caregivers like friends instead of enemies.
I am so grateful that my delivery went smoothly and I was blessed to be able to apply the above tips - I definitely know from experience that things don't always go so smoothly, and these tips aren't going to be practical for every situation. Labor can be so unpredictable, and things may not always turn out exactly like you want, no matter what you do. I think it's important to be flexible and not let it get to you too much if the unexpected happens. If things don't go as planned, se la vie, and it is okay.
However, having a strategy beforehand doesn't hurt, and I think doing these things definitely helped me toward my goal of having a natural birth in the hospital!
If anyone has anything to add, I'd love to read your tips below.
Note: I'm working on a post with the labor resources that I found useful - stay tuned!
In Out Of The Ruins by Karen Barnett, Abby Fischer is determined that her sister will survive her cancer, and she jumps at the chance to have her try an experimental treatment with x-rays. However, her sister dies anyway, and Abby vows to never talk to God again. Then the San Francisco earthquake hits, and Abby struggles with feeling like God has abandoned her yet again. What will show her that God has been taking care of her even through her heartache?
To be honest, I found this book a little depressing. Her sister dies, and then there is a bunch of destruction with the earthquake. Throw in a little romance, and that is basically the whole plot of the book. While there is a good lesson as far as Abby learning to trust God and see His provision through tragedy, for me, it didn't quite redeem the general death and destruction that permeated the book. I just would have liked more happy moments in the book, or more of a plot aside from the tragedies that occurred.
There was a romance storyline between Abby and her sister's doctor, Dr. King, but it felt a little rushed to me. I would have liked a little more time spent on the development of the romantic interest in the book, and a little less focus on the tragedy.
I did think the x-ray study plot element was interesting though, and it made me want to go back and look at the history of x-rays a little more. I cringed when the doctors repeatedly tested the x-ray strength on themselves and received burns from the radiation, thinking it was a good thing. I studied a bit about the history of radiographs as part of hygiene school, and I know that part of the story was probably fairly accurate! I found that interesting.
Overall, I didn't mind this book, but I just thought there were a few too many catastrophes without the light-hearted moments to balance it out.
Note: I received this book for free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
When I was a child, I used to really enjoy children's books where I could pretend that my brother and sister and I were like the characters in the book. If a story included a girl with a younger brother and sister I usually liked it, because in my mind, it was just like my siblings and me!
Well, we recently read I Love You All The Same, and I found myself doing the same thing. In this book, three little bear siblings play together and realize how different they are, but they are reassured and secure in the knowledge that their parents love them equally.
While I was reading it to Wyatt, I was thinking the three little bears are just like my three little ones - two boys and a girl! So I told Wyatt it was just like him and Gwen and Clyde. Ever since then he has been carrying the book around, studying it, and wanting to read it every night before bed. It's pretty adorable!
I loved this book. The illustrations are cute, and the pages are filled with rhymes. The three bears are a panda bear, a polar bear, and a brown bear, and the book points out their different talents and likes, while the parent bears tell their little ones that while they are all different, they love them all the same.
I thought the point of the book was really sweet. While I think this book would be appropriate for any family, I think it would be especially helpful for adoptive families to help their young children understand that even though they are all different, and may have come from different places, God has placed them all in the same family and their parents have the same love for each of them.
I definitely recommend this book for parents of multiple little ones! You can take a peek at this book here.
Tommy Nelson is kind enough to provide a copy of this book for one of my readers! Fill out the form below for a chance to win a copy!
Note: I received this book for free from Tommy Nelson in exchange for this review. This is my honest opinion.
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I have to say, I don't make elaborate dinners that often. Cooking is just not something I really enjoy, so whatever meals are quick and easy to make, that is what we usually eat. Every now and then though, I try to make Derek something a little more special for dinner, and a few weeks ago I decided we were due for a nice meal.
I scoured my cabinets, and I found a spice packet for Bruschetta Chicken. After reading the recipe on the back though, I decided I didn't like it, so I improvised and came up with a recipe on the fly. I wasn't sure if it was going to be edible, but it was actually delicious! I wrote down the recipe so I could repeat it in the future, and I thought I would share it here!
If you want to make the exact same thing, you can buy the McCormick Gourmet Sweet Basil and Oregano Bruschetta Chicken spice packet and use that, but I also came up with a mix of spices that is similar in case you can't find it. Feel free to adjust spices in this list to taste!
Bruschetta Chicken Spice Mix
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/12 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 tbsp. red pepper
1tbsp. parmesan cheese
1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
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And here is my recipe for the pasta:
Bruschetta Chicken Pasta
2-3 chicken breasts
Olive Oil
1 tbsp minced garlic
Bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, diced
Bruschetta Chicken Spice mix
Penne noodles
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp. flour
1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1. Cook chicken, and cut into slices or chunks. I usually pull chicken breasts out of my freezer and put them straight in the oven. They are usually done after an hour in the oven at 415 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Pour enough olive oil into a saucepan to cover the bottom. Add minced garlic, bell pepper, onion, and 1/2 spice mix. Cook until peppers and onions are tender.
3. Cook penne noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
4. Add chicken to peppers and onions, and coat in oil and spices.
5. Add milk and flour to mixture. Lower heat and simmer until the sauce starts to thicken.
6. Add mozzarella cheese and stir until melted.
7. Pour sauce mixture and the remainder of the spice mixture onto noodles and mix well. Serve warm.
Variation: We liked the noodles just following the above steps, but if you want this to be more like a casserole, you can also pour the noodles into a baking dish, add mozzarella cheese on top, and bake until the cheese is melted.
Enjoy!
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