Recently, there was a discussion about favorite romance authors. One of the authors whose name I recognized but had never read was Heather Graham. And no, I didn’t recognize it because of the other Heather Graham, I simply hadn’t found time to read anything she’d written. Having just finished Down in New Orleans, I have to say that I am definitely going to be finding more of her books to get me through the winter!

I will admit, I haven’t been one to jump on anything that strayed too far from standard contemporary romance. The description of this book intrigued me, so I figured it was worth a shot. I had no clue what I was in for!

One problem I have with a lot of mystery novels is they are too choreographed. You know what’s going to happen long before it does and then you’re left wondering what was so big about the result. Too many times, you’re introduced to the killer in a way that makes you hate them and know that they’re the one who did it. I thought I had it figured out about four different times. I was wrong four different times.

The reason I never started reading suspense romance was I didn’t see how the two could fit together without feeling cheated on one plot or the other. While I’m not sure that Mark and Ann would have felt the sparks they felt given the circumstances, it’s what made them work as a couple. There was a great tension between them. She didn’t want him flaunting his authority and telling her what to do. He was falling for her and that caused problems for him professionally. It was a good back and forth between the two.

Given the shared history between Jon and Mark, as well as the murder investigation, the conflict between these two characters is one of the few low points of the book. I can’t imagine that with everything they’ve shared, combined with the fact that Mark is trying to put Jon behind bars, that they would have almost no bad blod between them.

Heather Graham also did a good job sprinkling hints throughout the book regarding why Gina wasn’t just another murder victim. I’ll admit, that was another jaw popper for me when it continued to unravel, right up to the end of the book. I suppose that her character was developed enough, seeing as she was a dead woman from page one, but it would have been nice to learn more about why those who loved her did, even when it meant looking past her multiple lovers and prostitution.

This one is definitely going into the “read it again” pile!

Guest Post by Justin Gilpin: Having excellent kids begins with learning how to be an excellent parent! Nobody becomes the best parent in the world by reading a book or this article for that matter, but the simplistic principles that are about to be shared, can change your life!

Before we get our feet in the water, it’s important to realize that we need to change our way of thinking. If we think the way we’ve always thought, then we’ll continue to get what we’ve always got! It’s vital we see that there is a need for a change, a need to be better than our parents and grandparents. If we continue to slack off, then the next generation will suffer for our mistakes. Everything we teach the next generation (our kids) will echo for eternity!

Let’s take a look at the Jewish culture for a moment; though I’m not Jewish, we all have something we can learn from them. As a young Jewish child, you’ll be told almost daily without fail, that one day you’ll be a great success and that your future life will be great. Can you imagine! Everybody wants to hear this, even as an adult! They are taught from the Holy Bible to have a covenant relationship with their spouse and kids. A covenant relationship is basically a vow, which means that the relationship isn’t based on conditions. If the other party causes an issue it won’t cause a problem or breakup between the relationships.

In America, we have so many married couples split up, because they don’t express a true vow that is talked about in the Bible. Love is based on a choice, not a feeling. So should it be with our children! Another thing that the Jewish culture has taught many is how they discipline their children. The moment they get spanked/punished for doing something wrong, the parent would squeeze them and tell them how much they love them! Not only would they hug them, but tell them that they did it because they love them. It actually makes perfect sense as bitterness could brew up inside the child if the parent lets them run off without being told that they are loved.

The steps for rebuilding a relationship between parent and child can also be attained by choosing to bless them. The lives we live will also play a huge role on how our kids will behave. The way a child respects a parent will also reflect how they respect their future boss and spouses! It’s so important that we teach the next generation how to honor their father and mother!

Whether somebody believes in the Holy Bible or not, there is still a lesson to be learned here. Take the challenge and bless your children every step of the way!

Read more about at http://justingilpin.com/do-not-conform

Learning how to dehydrate meats (or create ‘jerky’) is a good skill to have for families who spend a lot of time outdoors. Jerky can last for up to a month at room temperature, requires no preparation to eat, and is lighter than regular foods since the moisture has been removed. It’s great for hiking and fishing trips, or spending a lot of time outdoors without the equipment to prepare food.

This advice applies to most meats, including chicken, beef (roast is best), and turkey.

What You Need to Make Homemade Jerky

1)      A working kitchen, with a fridge and a stove, and various utensils.

2)      2 lb of the meat you would like to dehydrate. Go with the leanest cut you can find, as fat will go rancid and reduce the shelf life of your jerky.

3)      A marinating sauce. Olive oil and salt is popular, as is the Soy/Worchester/garlic/salt and pepper mix, but feel free to experiment and find one that works for you.

4)      Ziploc bags for storage

How to Make Jerky at Home

1)      Slice your meat into as thin strips as possible. A great idea is to go to a deli, and have it sliced into 1/16th of an inch strips. The thinner they are, the better your jerky will be.

2)      Trim off any excess fat with a knife. This will make your jerky last longer.

3)      Put your strips into a bowl with your marinating sauce. Mix it up.

4)      Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.

5)      Put the contents of your bowl into a pot or sauce pan. Put a stove burner on high, and boil for five minutes to kill all bacteria.

6)      Lay your meat slices onto a paper towel, and let them drain.

7)      Place your meat slices onto the racks of your oven. Set the oven to 160 F, and keep the door open an inch or two to help with air flow.

8)      Cook the meat for 6 to 12 hours. You want all moisture to be removed. You’ll know when it is when the meat cracks, but bends and doesn’t snap.

9)      Remove your slices from the oven and let them cool completely.

10)   Put your slices into an air-tight Ziploc bag, to keep it fresh for as long as possible. Your jerky will be good for a month at room temperature, and can be frozen and last up to 6 months.

Good luck and stay prepared!

Read more from RamboMoe at preparedforthat.com

While some kids are already headed back to school, we still have a few weeks to get ready for the weekday mayhem. Today, I’m marking one thing off my list thanks to this WILD sale on Hanna Andersson lunchboxes.

1. Sign up for an account through ShopAtHome.com if you haven’t already.
2. Click on the blue Buy It Now button.
3. Buy your glue sticks (no coupon code necessary).
4. Your account will be credited for the cash back bonus, which gives you a discount of 50% on your new Hanna Andersson lunchbox!

It’s time for Back to School! This year, my goal is to spend as close to no money as possible on my daughter’s school supplies and today, ShopAtHome.com is helping me with my goal by offering FREE Elmers Glue Sticks as their WILD deal of the day!

To take advantage of this amazing offer, here’s what you need to do:

1. Sign up for an account through ShopAtHome.com if you haven’t already.
2. Click on the blue Buy It Now button.
3. Buy your glue sticks (no coupon code necessary).
4. Your account will be credited for the cash back bonus, which winds up making your glue sticks FREE!

It seems weird to wake up knowing that we’re currently drowning in debt and yet hopeful that we’ll be moving out of our dumpy little apartment and into a home at some point. For a long time, I could only picture living in this place 10 years from now and having our kids ashamed to bring friends over.

This morning, life is looking and feeling much better. I know that it’s not going to be an easy journey, but last night I went to the first Financial Peace University class and I LOVED it! I was expecting something a bit dry and hard to digest, but I have never laughed so much while being told that everything I’ve done is wrong!

Not only that, but as I sat there, the wheels in my head started churning on how I can get my emergency fund built as quickly as possible. I’m blessed that working from home, I can create my own destiny to some extent. It was AMAZING when I put the amount of money I need to put in savings into how many designs I need to complete. All of a sudden, what was a daunting, scary, unattainable amount of money seems so simple!

By the time we were driving home, I bumped up my goal date by a week. At first, it was by the end of February, but I’m going to be in Nashville at the end of the month, so there will be 4 days I’m not doing design work and then there are only 3 days left in the month after I get home. That’s not much time to get money into the bank. So now, my plan is to have my emergency fund built to $1000 by February 22nd, the day before I leave. If I achieve that, I’m going to take a detour on my way to Opryland and visit Financial Peace Plaza as soon as I touch down in Nashville! In the coming days, I will explain why this is such an important thing for me to do…

Remember, if you don’t take the first step, you’ll never get to the finish line!

This is the ultimate in one to give and one to win events brought to you by Madame Deals and Autism United. I’m beyond excited that I will be getting the chance to meet Amee from Madame Deals as well as many other amazing bloggers next month when I’m in Nashville for Blissdom! We’re going to be kicking up our heels at the Opry on Friday night and we want YOU to join us! The scheduled acts so far are Diamond Rio, Mike Snider, and Jimmy Dickens, with more possible. The show is Friday night, February 24th at 7pm. Not wanting to hang with a group of bloggers on a Friday night in Nashville? That’s fine too! Once you win, it’s completely up to you what you do with the tickets! This giveaway is for the show tickets only, no travel or accommodations are included.

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Are you sick of hearing me whine about my lack of direction, about trying to figure out where I should be heading with my blog, etc? Yeah, me too! The good news is, you won’t have to hear about it anymore!

Let me go back in time a bit…

Around the middle of September, a friend invited me to Bible Study at their church on Wednesday mornings. Being a work at home mom, I jumped on the chance to get out and meet other women and give Bubba some time to play with other kids his age. Yes, I’m horrible, but I typically suck at the playdate scene, so he doesn’t get a lot of interaction with kids his own age.

By mid-October, I let life take over and stopped going. Either I was working too late on Wednesday nights to be out of bed and ready to go by 8:15 or I had something pressing to do. I felt like crap. I was a bad friend for wasting her money, I wasn’t paying attention to my spiritual well being and most importantly, I was letting go of my entire reason for blogging to begin with.

After struggling through a few months of deal blogging, I knew it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t my passion. There, I said it! I love saving money just as much as the next guy or girl, but blogging about it quickly became a chore. I felt like I had sold out. Yes, I was making money, but at a huge cost to myself!

Back to this week…

Sunday night, I was cleaning my dining room and I came across my book from our study group. Unlike the other times I had come across my book, this time I felt the desire to be back in group. I felt like I was missing the women I had barely gotten to know last fall. I called my friend and told her to pick me up this morning. You see, after a few weeks of calling and finding out I wasn’t going, she let me know that the invitation was open, but she wasn’t going to keep “pestering” me about it.

So, this morning Bubba and I got up and dressed and headed to the next town over for Bible Study. When we got there, I was filled with a sense of peace and calm. Within five minutes, my mind started racing with blogging ideas. The message was clear.

When I started my blog a year ago, it was because I was filled with the need to share Christ and our church’s prayer challenge to a larger audience. Much like today, I was sitting in church and couldn’t stop thinking about blogging. Unlike today, I didn’t have a blog and really had no desire to start one at that point. Despite my feelings of not wanting to be tied down to a blog, I started a site that night. I felt fulfilled. The ideas were flowing. Life was good.

I’m not saying that my blog is going to be all Christ all the time because I’m a complex, multi-faceted girl, but you’ve been warned, I will be returning to the path I was given. The message this morning was crystal clear. The gift I have been given is a gift from God and it is because of His blessings that I am where I am today. It’s time for me to listen!