Book Review - Pattern of Wounds

Pattern of Wounds is a murder mystery novel featuring Roland March as the cantankerous, focused, tough guy homicide detective. Pattern of Wounds was written by J. Mark Bertrand. The novel follows March as he tries to solve a murder of a young woman, figure out if the crime is one of a serial killer, deal with his own past, and face an unraveling conviction.
I thought the novel moved slowly through the first half. Perhaps I am too used to crimes being solved in the 1 hour time frame on Law and Order: SVU! Halfway through though, my attention was grabbed and I couldn't put the book down. This was the first book in the Roland March series that I read, and although it is not necessary to read the first book in the series, it is probably helpful to. At some points I did feel a little lost because I didn't know the complete back story for the other story lines that were included in Pattern of Wounds. And speaking of other story lines, I felt there were too many in the book! And looking back, those were the parts in the novel that I seemed to drag through. Those parts were probably super important for those who have read the first Roland March book in the series and wanted closure. However, I would have been content just reading the parts relating to the main crime-the murder of the woman, with perhaps one side story thrown in.
If given the opportunity, I would pick up the first book in the Roland March series. If the series continues I would probably pick up those books as well.
**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

Book Review-One Call Away

The first thing someone may be thinking is "Who is Brenda Warner and why would I want to read her autobiography?" Well, her biggest claim to fame is being Kurt Warner's wife.

Still, you may be saying, "Who's Kurt Warner?" or perhaps, "That name sounds familiar. I think he was on Dancing With the Stars once." He was, and Kurt Warner is a former football player who led his teams to the Super Bowl three times. OK, now that we got that squared away, you may still be asking, Why would I want to pick up Brenda Warner's autobiography, especially if I don't know who she is, or like football, the sport her husband is affiliated with?

The simple answer is because you will love her story. You will feel like you have gained a friend after reading her book. You will be inspired. You will laugh and you will cry. You do not need to be a football fan to enjoy this strong woman's story.

It is very unfortunate the many tragedies that Brenda Warner has faced in her life, however, those tragedies make for a good read, and I thus couldn't put One Call Away down. It's been awhile since I have finished an autobiography in three days; actually it's been awhile since I have finished ANY book in three days! I just couldn't put it down, and spent those three days reading it staying up until 1 a.m. every night!

Although Brenda's life has been marked by some horrific moments, her deep faith allows her to trust God and His plan for her life. She is a strong woman for all that she has been through, however, the only reason she is, is because she serves a stronger God! I will say that I disagree with some of the choices that Brenda has made in her life (premarital sex and breast enhancement surgery), however, I do appreciate how completely honest she was.

If you have read Mary Beth Chapman's book, Choosing to See, I found that the writing styles are similar, and so are the messages, however, two very different stories, so it is worth it to pick One Call Away up.

**I was provided a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**

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Week 4 Gas Challenge July 3-9

We started this week with our mileage at 129,893.

We ended this week with our mileage at 129,969.

So, yes, we kept our miles under 100 at 76 miles!!!!

Definitely proud of this accomplishment, however, looking back I realized I DID drive every day except Friday. So, maybe I need to add an additional goal of only driving 3 or 4 days out of the week!

I biked to work 3 out of the 4 days I worked last week, and I biked with all three kids to the library on Thursday night. No easy feat, since I had the bike trailer, a bike seat on the back of my bike, plus the 3 kids, and their bags of library books (which probably equals the weight of Foster Child #3!)

I did drive the 1 mile to the hardware store on Thursday-boo! But, my grampa was helping me with pressure washing our wood ramp, and we needed something. I offered to go to the store, but since I was on his time, I knew I needed to do it quickly so he could get back home (especially since this was after doing his chemo treatment-he definitely gets ROCK STAR status!). So, I drove.

My goal this week is to NOT have to put gas in the car until we go on vacation. We have just under a quarter of a tank. I wish that I could attain my goal of only driving 3 or 4 days this week, but I've already driven every day this week, and I will be driving tomorrow,and probably Thursday as we get ready for Family Camp

Week 3 Gas Challenge June 27-July 2

We started this week with our gas mileage at 129,690.
We ended our week with our mileage at 129,893.

So this week we traveled 203 miles by car. Definitely not the 100 miles I wanted, but I also wanted a fun family trip strawberry picking. Guess which one we chose? We traveled to McHenry on Saturday for strawberry picking and then went to my grandparents for a fun afternoon of electric scootering and pool play. Wouldn't trade it for trying to meet my gas goal.

Our gas could have been lower had we not gotten lost on the way to my grandparents' house. (This just means that our new car that we are saving up for must have GPS!)

This week, I sadly biked only 2 days. One day it was raining, and another day I was so tired because Foster Child #3 was up for 3 hours in the middle of the night. Although biking and driving to work take the same amount of time, I figured driving would be safer to have the metal surrounded me, should I not be paying attention! And for the third day I consolidated my drive to work with dropping of recycling. Kind of ironic that to be green you have to sacrifice some element of greenness by driving to drop off recycling.

This week I also had a couple of other errand trips that I had to take by car. One day had to go to church and then to Rogers Park, and another day I had to go to Park Ridge, Dominick's, and a friend's house in Jefferson Park.

We did walk/bike to the library on Thursday,and let me tell you, I was so tempted to drive, thinking we would be late for the Thursday concert there. However, I totally booked it, and we made it in plenty of time! And then when Foster Dad joined us, he biked over and when we left he took one of the Foster kids with him.

Oh, and one thing about Foster Dad. I am so excited and blessed that he is so on board with this challenge of mine. It did start out as my idea and he gave his blessing, but I definitely thought he wouldn't be completely on board, mainly because he bikes all the time to work. Also he likes convenience, so if given the opportunity to drive somewhere to get something quick, he would. Take for example on Friday. I realized when I shopped that I forgot milk. So, when Foster Dad came home he went out to get milk, but he took his bike (and 2 kids with him), completely knowing that dinner would be delayed a few extra minutes because of the extra time it would take him to bike to the store rather than drive!

Week 2 Gas Challenge-June 20-26

Our mileage at the beginning of the week was 129,543.

And our mileage at the end of the week was 129,690.

We drove a total of 147 miles!!! Not the half I was looking for from the previous week's 238, but still quite a reduction!

Here's how we did it:
We did travel once again to my grandparents. (I am not willing to cut that out for sake of saving money!)
We did drive to 2 grocery stores (jewel and Dominicks), and crazily we drove to the Dominick's that is farther away. However, the jewel is on the way home from that Dominick's so that is why we went there. Wouldn't have made sense to go to the closer Dominick's because the Jewel is in the opposite direction! Plus this Dominick's we went to has the bread we buy now (Ezekial 4:9) so that saved us a trip from going to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods!
I biked to work 3 days last week.
Foster Child #1 went to VBS this week, but went with our next door neighbors. Instead of me doing all the driving, our neighbor dropped off the kids,and I picked them up! (And unfortunately VBS was canceled for 2 nights because the church had no power, so saved gas that way-boo!)

I must say that it is so exciting to see that in one week we only used a 1/4 tank of gas (if that much). It would be great if we don't have to fill up again until mid July!

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Foster Child #1: Mom, where's the blanket with arms?
Foster Dad: What's that?
Typical guy!!!
Me: Foster child #1, it's called a robe.