{ Wild Horse Springs by Jodi Thomas - TLC Book Tour }

Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: HQN Books (January 24, 2017)

In the heart of Ransom Canyon, sometimes the right match for a lonely soul is the one you least expect.

Dan Brigman may not lead the most exciting life, but he’s proud of what he’s achieved: he’s a respected lawman, and he’s raised a bright, talented daughter on his own. But finding a lone, sparkly blue boot in the middle of a deserted highway gets him thinking maybe the cowgirl who lost it is exactly the shake-up he needs.

After losing her baby girl, Brandi Malone felt like her soul died along with her daughter. Now singing in small-town bars to make ends meet, she’s fine being a drifter—until a handsome sheriff makes her believe that parking her boots under his bed is a better option.

College grad Lauren Brigman has just struck out on her own in downtown Dallas when a troubling phone call leads her back home to Crossroads. Her hometown represents her family, friends and deepest hopes, but also her first love, Lucas Reyes. Will Lauren’s homecoming be another heartbreak, or a second chance for her and Lucas?

Purchase Links

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About Jodi Thomas

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Thomas is a fifth-generation Texan who sets many of her stories in her home state, where her grandmother was born in a covered wagon. She is a certified marriage and family counselor, a Texas Tech graduate and writer-in-residence at West Texas A&M University. She lives with her husband in Amarillo, Texas.

 Connect with Jodi

Website | Facebook | Twitter

My Thoughts

This is the 5th installment in Jodi Thomas' Ransom Canyon series.    The fact that the story takes place in Texas is a plus for me, since I live in the State of Texas as well.  It's always quite fun reading about the State you reside in.

The book takes us along, as it tells the story of Sheriff Dan, his 25 year old daughter Lauren, and Brandi, the beautiful singer who is trying to run from her own life and more specifically the loss of her child.

I felt a little disconnected at times, because though I think this may work ok as a stand alone, there were many moments where I couldn't quite understand what was going on but merely because I haven't read the previous 4 books in the series.  I probably would have understood some of the connections and characters slightly better, if I had.

I also found it a bit distracting to have so many stories going on at once, I was hoping to have more focus on the main characters which I thought were Dan and Brandi, but we also had Dan's daughter Lauren, her love troubles and triangles, and then yet another love story thrown in with two other characters.  I personally would have enjoyed it more if the story was about one specific couple.

Nonetheless, it was still an ok read.  I just wish I had enjoyed it more because I feel it had so much potential.

 

{ Happy Valentine's Day }

♥♥♥ Happy Valentine's Day♥♥♥

How was your day friends?  I'm not one to really celebrate Valentine's Day, I'm more of the belief that you should show the person you love, every single day.

My husband and I don't often celebrate this holiday, I think after so many years of being together and married, we don't always see the need to go all out, but once in a while one or the other will gift something.

This year, it was my husband.  I was not expecting anything at all, but he showed up with this beautiful card with the saying "I love you more", which is something we're always saying to the other, so it was quite cute that he picked that one.

He also got me two big boxes of chocolate and a bag of the Lindt Lindor White Chocolate which are my favorites.  I'm a lucky girl for sure :)

We have a slight problem though, as I can't see to stop eating these, I think I've plowed through half the box already.  OH boy!!!

I must pace myself and do an extra T25 workout this week.

I promised you yesterday that I would take a photo of the Mandala Blanket to show you. I managed to finish Row 8 earlier today and am about to start Row 9, so here you go.

What a fun project it's been, I'm enjoying as much as Sophie's Universe, and these may just become my blankets of choice, crochet wise.

I've been thinking of doing posts for all of these projects I'm working on, and maybe updating them as I go.  I can list the materials, the colors, the size hook and then post a picture every time I finish one of the parts, and all the way through the end.  I quite think it would be fun even for myself to have it all jotted down and watch as it progresses.  What do you think?

My day was spent inside, as the rain just continued coming down.  It's been non stop for the past 2 days, and I couldn't be happier as I do enjoy rainy days.

I worked on a few things around the house, I tried to keep Marley still and quiet so that he can rest his leg as much as possible, I finished the Murder Calls show on Netflix (it was only a couple episodes long) and I did some housework.

Tonight, my husband took us to dinner at a local restaurant for Valentine's Day.  My daughter decided to stay home as she was skyping her boyfriend back in Arkansas and spending time with him, but my Nicholas came with.  OH friends, I need to take a good picture of my son to show you.  He towers over me, he has a mustached growing, he is so grown up and he is almost taller than his dad.  He hasn't even turned 14 yet, but this boy is just growing like a weed.

I'll try to get a picture of him, it's been a while, but he doesn't enjoy having his picture taken at all so it's always a bit of a pain.

I've had my shower, I have my hair up in a towel since I washed it, and I need to give my bangs a quick trim and the hair a fast dry with the hair dryer.  I'm not even going to bother straightening it tonight, will let it semi air dry.

Then will try and get the first row of Part 9 done before it's bed time, yet again, and we're halfway through another week. 

*sigh*

{ Rainy Day }

****  It's been a cloudy day with rain intermittently falling.

Since I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, and had that neck muscle pain going, I decided to do more computer work instead of carpet cleaning like I had planned. 

I may not get around to it tomorrow either because the rain is supposed to last through the night and all day tomorrow, which means the carpets will take a lot longer to dry.  I'll just wait on that task until Wednesday.

I do want to get some baking done so I may just do that instead, although I have a few sewing projects I would love to get into and that might be a good idea too on a cold rainy day.

Whatever I decide to do, I'll take you along :)

****  I've been working on my Mandala Madness and am on the last row of Part 8.  As it grows, the rows take longer to complete so it's not going quite as fast as I would like, but that's just because I'm impatient to see how it looks at the end.  Still really enjoying this project though, the fact that every row is different keeps it interesting.

****  Marley is feeling much better, he is almost back to normal with his leg.  I'm pretty convinced he pulled something.  He is limping a tiny bit, but for the most part he is running around, being back to his old self and is in no pain at all.  Tonight though he is limping a bit more, so I'm not sure if he overdid it.  It's so hard keeping such an active dog, and a puppy at that, resting and quiet.

I'm just praying that he continues to improve, if not then the Vet wants to see him. 

****  Dinner tonight was an old favorite of ours....Ham and Broccoli Ring.  I hadn't made it in years but Curt requested it the other day and I'm glad he did.  We all really enjoyed it tonight.

****  Today I've been watching a show on Netflix, called "Murder Files".  It is very interesting.

Not a very exciting day, but then as a stay at home mom, there aren't many days where anything super exciting is going on right?  I still like to record it all down, what I did, what we ate, what I watched, crocheted etc.  It's a reminder of what that day brought and where my mind was at.


It's the little things that count.............
xoxoxo

{ Happy Homemaker Monday - 02/13/2017 }

Good morning everyone, hope you all had a great weekend and wishing you a wonderful week ahead.

I can't say my Monday has gotten off to the best start, I didn't get very good sleep last night as I pulled a neck/upper back muscle yesterday while doing laundry.  Go ahead and laugh, I know I have hahah

See, housework can be dangerous.  No but really, I went to grab the laundry basket which was full, and somehow pulled something.  It made sleeping quite difficult last night.  Between the pulled muscle, and the dogs both being restless last night, I didn't get much sleep, so I'm snail pacing myself around this morning.

I won't let it interfere with what I need done though, so as soon as this post goes up, I'm getting dressed for the day, and starting with my housework.  But right now, let's see what is going on for us homemakers on this Monday. 

The weather:::
Texas is quite crazy when it comes to weather.  Saturday we enjoyed 93 degree weather, yesterday we dropped to 50, today we're at 47 degrees, cloudy and rain incoming in about an hour and staying all through the rest of the day AND tomorrow.  Crazy!!!!


On my bedside table:::
Junk.....I need to clean it today and get rid of some of the junk on there as well.  It tends to collect so much stuff as the week goes by.


On my reading pile:::
Got a new book in for review so starting on that one today.   


On my TV:::
I wasn't watching The Walking Dead, I actually watched the first 2 episodes of this season back in October and then stopped because I wasn't feeling it.  Since it came back last night, I caught up on the last 3 episodes yesterday afternoon, just because.......I'm glad I did, I am back to enjoying the show.
I also plan on watching a few other things today and this week, so here's the list:

The Halcyon
British History's Biggest Fibs with Lucy Worsley
Blood and Fury - America's Civil War
Turn


On the menu for this week:::
Some of the menu items from last week, are back again.  If you ever notice that it's because I either switched a meal or ended up not making it.
I have to work on the new menu plan this week, so not sure what I'm doing Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  It also depends on whether my daughter is going to her boyfriend's family or not.  Things have just gotten in the way lately, and it keeps getting postponed.

Monday -  Ham Ring with Veggies   
Tuesday - Sausage and Spinach Pasta, Garlic Bread   
Wednesday - Jalapeno Sausages in Tomato Sauce, Rice
Thursday - Barbecue Ribs, Biscuits, Fries
Friday -
Saturday -
Sunday -


On my to do list:::
Monday - Laundry, change bed sheets, make Tomato Jam, homeschool
Tuesday - Menu Plan, homeschool
Wednesday - Homeschool, Call in refill for birth control
Thursday - Jasmine's Therapy Appointment
Friday - Grocery Shopping
Saturday - Housework, probably OKC later in the day
Sunday - Laundry


What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Done a couple more rounds on the Mandala Madness, plan on taking pics today to show you in my post later this afternoon. 


Looking forward to:::
Just hoping for a good week ahead.


Looking around the house:::
It's not yet 9am.  Marley is sleeping right on my lap.  It is deadly quiet in the house as the kids are still sleeping.  It's a bit dark because of the cloudy day, so I'm going to light some candles today and enjoy the rain as it comes down.  Not too much to do in the house, it is pretty clean and tidy from this weekend.


From the camera:::
Quite enjoying some knitting, even though I'm a huge crocheter, I do however enjoy my knitting and it's been a nice little break from all the crochet I've been doing.  I haven't stopped crochet though, just adding a bit of knitting to the mix :)

What I'm wearing today:::
I am still in my pajamas, as usual around this time, but I am planning on getting dressed very shortly.  Jeans and a checked shirt with a tank underneath, is going to be my outfit of the day.  


One of my simple pleasures:::
Enjoying a piece of toast with butter and jam, then dipping it into my coffee. 


Bible verse, Devotional::: 

{ Saturday - David's Bridal, Lunch, Hot Weather }

Good evening everyone, I hope you've had a great Saturday :)

Mine was very good, actually what I was needing after yesterday.

For those of you who don't know, because honestly I haven't really talked about it much since I wasn't blogging on a regular basis......my niece Tiffany is getting married in June, in Idaho.

My girl Jasmine is a bridesmaid, so today we had an appointment at David's Bridal for her to try on a few dresses so they could figure out which style to go with.

As a woman, you know there's nothing more fun than being able to try on pretty things, so myself, Jasmine, my niece and my sister in law set off for that appointment.

It's always so much fun when we do a girl's day out.  I love my husband, I love my son, I love spending time with my family too, but you also need to sometimes have just a girl's day, where you can talk about whatever you want, be silly, laugh, shop, have lunch, browse without the guys getting annoyed that you're taking too long and so forth.

I had my camera with me but it was so busy today, so many brides and bridesmaids and families, that I didn't feel comfortable whipping out my huge camera for photos.  I used my phone and snapped just a few of the dresses Jasmine tried on.

This one above was one of my favorites, not only because the dress is beautiful but I look at this photo and wonder where the time has gone.  Where is my little girl.  She's turning 18 in 2 months, graduating in 3, and planning to move out.  (that's a whole other post)

She's grown up to become such a beautiful young woman and I'm so proud of her.  I have to say though, I can't wait until I'm back in that store one day, watching her try on wedding dresses :)

After our appointment we had some lunch at Raising Canes, which if you've never tried, you have to.  By far the best chicken place I've ever tried.

We ventured back into some other stores, we needed a gift for my brother whose birthday is tomorrow, and my sister in law also tried on a few dresses for the wedding as well.

It was just a fun girly day and I had such a good time :)

Did I mention it was 92 degrees today?  Absolutely insane, considering tomorrow we're back to 40 LOL

But for today, I enjoyed every single moment of this warm weather, and thoroughly enjoyed wearing shorts and a tank top to do some clean up in the yard.

It's now 7:41pm, I have a load of laundry going, I've had my shower, I'm in my pj's and just relaxing on the computer for a bit before I flip on the TV and see what I can find to watch.  I may watch a movie, not sure yet.

Marley is doing better, he is at least walking on the leg, limping and won't put too much weight on it.  I'm almost 100% positive he either twisted his foot, or pulled a muscle or something.  He is acting like his old self, even trying to run with that sore leg, but we're forcing him to take it easy and not push it so he won't further injure himself.

I'm hoping that by tomorrow he will be even better and by Monday maybe even back to normal.  If he is not, then I'll take him in for them to have a look.

Thank you all for asking about him and sending prayers and good thoughts, it means a lot :)

He's asking to go potty so I guess that's my cue to get on off here and go help him if he needs it.  I'll be back tomorrow. 

Have a great night :)