Book Review: Song of My Heart (Kim Vogel Sawyer)

I love a good Christian historical romance. I don't know what it is about the endearing female protagonist and the charming male cowboy who sweeps her off her feet. Granted, they can be a bit predictable, but I love them.

Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer, however, while predictable in parts, took some twists and turns that I did not quite expect.

I absolutely loved Sadie. I'm pretty much convinced that if she were not just a fictional character, and if I had lived back then, we would've been fast friends.

And what is not to love about Miss Shelva and Miss Melva. You can't help but smile at their antics. Their brother, Asa, however, is part of the reason the story took some turns I didn't quite expect. I expected Asa to be a sweet little man. I was wrong.

My all-time favorite character, however, was (not surprisingly) Thad McKane. Typical fictitious cowboy/sheriff/good guy. And the guy you root for the entire time. Thad had a lot to overcome and it was fun to watch him grow throughout the book.

The whole story was very engaging and enjoyable. This was only the second book by Kim Vogel Sawyer that I had read, and I've enjoyed both so I think it is time to get my hands on some more of her books because I am sure they are just as enjoyable!

With endearing characters, a sweet love story and just enough mystery to keep things interesting, I would  recommend Song of My Heart!

This review copy was provided to me by the publisher. I received no compensation and was not required to give a positive review. Thank you to Bethany House for providing me with this book!

Books Read in March 2012

Somehow, and I'm not quite sure how, the month of March segued into the month of April without me even realizing it. I mean, I knew that we were writing "4" for the month when writing the date, but for some reason the fact that we did, indeed, change months somehow slipped past me. And that is why I am a whole week late sharing with you my list of books from March. What I hate to admit, however, is that I only read one book in the month of March. I'm not sure why, it just happened that way.

1. Longing (Karen Kingsbury) - 319 p.

Which is a whopping 319 pages during the month of March. And 4947 pages in 2012. I can assure you that April will have a better total, as we are already 8 days in and I've finished two books. *whew*

How Great Is Our God?!

I sat in a friend's hot tub last night, staring up at the stars. It was one of those perfect nights for star-gazing - the air was crisp, the sky clear. The stars twinkled. After awhile my gazing was rewarded with a shooting star that streaked its way across the sky. I was thinking about a few things, but one thing that was going through my mind was "how GREAT is our God!" I mean really....looking at those amazing and magnificent stars....yeah. Gets me every time.

Thank you, Lord, for clear starry nights.

Photography: Headshots!

I recently had the opportunity to take headshots for a friend of mine that she is going to use for a local theatre audition. I had a lot of fun practicing my headshot skills!

  

  

Engaged: Tim & Cassie

I've been fortunate enough to be pretty close to my paternal cousins for most of my life. Since we moved to Idaho, we've lived only a few hours away from each other, which has been really nice.

I've been teasing my cousin Tim for several years now that he would probably be the first cousin to tie the knot. Well, whaddya know? I was right! Tim met a girl at college (I predicted that one, too...) and the rest is history.

Tim and his super-awesome fiance, Cassie (who, I am sure, is going to be a great addition to the family!) were nice enough to come up one Saturday and let me take engagement pictures for them. We came close to freezing our toes off, but we sure got some fun shots! 

They said I could share some of the pictures with you, so here are a few:

Cassie and I made that chalkboard out of a wooden frame and some foam board. We MADE it, people. We were pretty pleased with ourselves. She gets all the credit for the idea. I couldn't find a chalkboard anywhere so was abandoning the concept of cool chalkboard save-the-dates. :)

I had to include the shoe picture because I really like it, and because Tim just doesn't understand why anyone would want to take pictures of shoes...... :)

Enough of the ambiguous shots....I'm sure you want to see the happy couple....right?

No, Cassie is not short. My cousin is just TALL! 

I feel like he has grown an extra inch every time I see him.

By the end of it, we were all pretty tired.......

Congratulations, Tim & Cassie! Thanks for letting me spend a few hours with you!

Books Read in February 2012

I again kept a list in February of the books I read. I didn't read as many, but that's okay!

1. Take One (Karen Kingsbury) - 323 p.
2. Take Two (Karen Kingsbury) - 298 p.
3. Take Three (Karen Kingsbury) - 311 p.
4. Take Four (Karen Kingsbury) - 352 p.
5. Leaving (Karen Kingsbury) - 509 p. (this was a Large Print book, thus the high number of pages!)
6. Through My Eyes (Tim Tebow) - 257 p.

That's a whopping 2,050 pages in February....and 4,628 pages in 2012. Not bad for two months into the year. :)

I do want to comment on one of the books I read in February: Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow. I chose to read this book for a couple of reasons, one being that Tebow-mania has swept the nation and I wanted to find out what the excitement was all about (without having to watch a football game), and partly because I heard through the grapevine that his book was a really good read. After reading it, I would have to agree. I now have a deeper respect and appreciation for the person that is Tim Tebow (and I may or may not start watching Broncos games when they are on TV next fall....haha!). The guy is genuine. The guy is real. And the guy likes country music and his dog. I was very impressed with his faith and his humility. His parents promised God that if He gave them another child they would raise him to be a preacher, and they have fulfilled that promise. Tim is a great witness and I'm sure as he continues to become more popular he will have more and more opportunities to be a preacher and a witness both on and off the field. Plus his book was very well written, engaging and personal. If you get a chance, read it.

Recipe: Panko-Crusted Cod

I'm not the biggest fish fan in the world. But I'm warming up to it as I try different types of fish or recipes for fish that I find that I like. Last night we decided to try using panko crumbs and tried this recipe for Panko-Crusted Cod. It was delicious! We served it with brocolli (another food I'm trying to warm up to) and it was such a tasty meal. If you haven't tried panko crumbs yet, or if you haven't tried putting them on cod, you have to try this recipe!

Panko-Crusted Cod
Recipe from the Washington Post

1 cup panko (Japanese-style bread crumbs....we found we needed less than 1 cup)
Freshly grated zest of 1 medium lemon (we left this out and didn't miss it)
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
4 4-6 ounce skinless cod fillets, preferably at least 1 inch thick (we only had 3 filets)
1/4 teaspoon salt to taste
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard, or more to taste
Nonstick cooking oil spray, for the crumb topping
Approximately 4 tablespoons lemon juice, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 375*. Use aluminum foil or parchment paper to line the bottom of a baking dish or rimmed baking sheet large enough to hold the fish fillets in a single layer.

Combine the panko, lemon zest and parsley in a shallow baking dish; mix well.

Use paper towels to pat the fillets dry. Place them skinned (darker) side down on the lined baking dish or sheet, then sprinkle lightly with salt.

Use the mustard to evenly coat the tops of the fillets. Working with one fillet at a time, invert each one onto the panko mixture, pushing down gently so the crumbs adhere to the mustard coating. Return the fillet to the baking dish or sheet and repeat with the remaining fillets. Use nonstick cooking oil spray to lightly coat the fillets crumb topping.

Bake for about 12 minutes, until the fish is cooked through (based on a guideline of 10-12 minutes cooking per inch of thickness). Transfer to the stove top (off the heat) while you preheat the broiler.

Position the top oven rack 4-6 inches from the top broiling element; preheat the broiler.

Broil the fillets for 1-2 minutes, just to brown the crumb topping.

Meanwhile, spoon about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice across each individual plate. Add a splash of olive oil (about 1 teaspoon), and then lay a fillet on top of each portion. Serve immediately.