To Keep Writing...

All right, I'm starting another month of serious writing tomorrow. It's kind of an unhashed idea, and I'm going to let it lead me where it will. I really enjoyed participating in NaNoWriMo, and I think that process is the only way I can actually get a book through the first draft.

Usually through my writing process I stop and consider, and reread, and delete a lot of it. And I never get past 5,000 words. But with setting a goal of writing 50,000 words right out with no backspacing and no rereading, I am capable of producing that amount of work.

I'm still working on editing the first novel. But I want to keep writing, and an idea has been brewing in my brain. I'm a little worried that it's kind of childish. That seems to be one of my creative drawbacks. I'm always thinking what I write sounds like a children's book.

I have a lot of respect for writers who can portray a love story without making it sound stupid. My favorite of those authors right now is Kristin Cashore with Graceling and Fire. She can make a love story happen without making it feel foolish.

So wish me luck on my next (short) month of 50,000 words. I'll let you know how it goes.

February Calendar

I hope you enjoy this month's calendar. When the big snowstorm hit our area of Germany, we went out walking and found people sledding. Some even still use the old wooden sleds.

Please leave a comment if you use it so I can keep track of how popular it is. Thanks!

Just click on the picture. When it comes up in its own browser window, right click and save the picture somewhere on your computer. Then go to that location, right click on the picture, and set as desktop background. Voila, you have a photo calendar on your computer!

Books in 2009 - 60

I won't bore you with the entire list in one chunk. I'll break it into pieces that are a tad easier to digest. But I will be going in chronological order. These are the books I read in 2009. I'll rate on a scale of 1-5, 5 being best in my opinion. I read an even 60 books, and I've already devoured five in 2010. To some that will be a mediocre number, to others it is outrageous. Reading is what I do, just ask my husband. So onto the list in size-able chunks...

First, the books I reread in 2009:

Beauty by Robin McKinley - 5
I will read this book over and over again. It is beautiful and imaginative, and I always want more when I'm done.

Cane River by Lalita Tademy - 2
Very well researched historical fiction.

Harry Potter 6 by J.K. Rowling - 3
Reread just before watching the movie.

A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers - 3
Well written christian fiction. Not overtly religious and annoying. A great story.

An Echo in the Darkness by Francine Rivers - 3
Goes with A Voice in the Wind.

Emma by Jane Austen - 2
I hate to give her a 2, but gosh do I hate Emma. She is so stuck-up!

Marley and Me by John Grogan - 4
Reread this with Albert. I'm still laughing at some of the things he writes.

Wicked by Gregory Maquire - 2
I love the imagination it takes to pull an old story out and remake it. But I'm not into politics and he turns Oz into a modern day political debate.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer - 2
Reread for the movie.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer - 4
Ten times better than the Twilight books. She is an amazing writer, she just needed a better subject.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - 5
I read this one twice this year. She creates a world that sounds horrible, but I want to crawl inside and live there all the same.

A little disclaimer: these are all my opinion. I don't think I have the right to say whether these books should be best sellers or not. But if they are above a 3 I would highly recommend them to you. And even if they are a 2 or a 1, you should read them anyways just to broaden your horizons. Books open your mind.

Read. Read. Read. Just don't read one type of book. Read different books by various authors so that you develop different styles.
--R. L. Stine

The Answer

This week's word was meant to be because my friend told me she bought blueberries at the store. Hence, my inspiration. But then I spoke on skype with my sister, and my niece was munching on blueberries. I loved the things I found too! Although I haven't seen blueberries at our store here yet, and now I'm craving them. Guess I'll have to be patient. I'm sure they are just as fresh as everything else here in Germany, so they will be the best blueberries ever. I think I should say blueberries just one more time so there are five big, blue words here. Three's and five's are good sets of numbers. And now I'm being random. Please forgive me, I have a head cold and it seems to be making me act weird.

Word of the Week

Hello Word of the Weekers! I know that's dorky, but it just spilled out of my fingers. These four pictures have one thing in common. Guess what it is in the comments. You can click on the pictures to view the products and the shop names to visit the shops. I'll post the answer tomorrow. Viel spass! Have fun!

Verbenacustomblends.etsy.com

bugnikdesigns.etsy.com

TomBjornDesigns.etsy.com

SewSpecialBaby.etsy.com

If you have an etsy shop and would like to have a give-away for one of your items, let me know! I will feature you in another Word of the Week and display an ad for you on the side of my blog for two weeks.

A Quote

Piepsen! Or Piep for short

It is decided, his name is Piepsen. It means squeak in German. Thank you to everyone who voted to help name the mouse.

Piep came with us on our second wedding anniversary because he hadn't seen Paris yet. Seeing as we only live three hours away from it, I'm sure we'll go again. But he insisted on not missing this. Because it was winter, the second level stairs were closed due to ice. We only got to the first level. He held my hand the whole way up (I'm afraid of heights). The views from that level aren't very spectacular, but hopefully we'll go all the way to the top in the spring when it's not so cold.

Other than the Eiffel he especially loved the crepe stands on the sidewalk. Bananas and sugar, makes us both lick our lips just remembering it.

The Answer

Yes,

tomato

is the answer. Tomato, tomahto...potato, potahto...that doesn't sound as good when it's written down.

Today is the last day to vote on the (mouse without a name). So get to it! I'll announce his name tomorrow with another photo.

Word of the Week

Found some cute stuff. Didn't really have inspiration for it, but it's all so cute. These four pictures have one thing in common, guess what it is in the comments. You can click on the photos to see the products, or click on the shop names to visit the shops. I'll post the answer tomorrow. Have fun!

joojooland.etsy.com

BirdTrouble.etsy.com

SimplySentimental.etsy.com

peacockgarden.etsy.com

If you have an etsy shop and would like to have a give-away for one of your items, let me know! I will feature you in another Word of the Week and display an ad for you on the side of my blog for two weeks.

Floating DVD Shelves

For our thoroughly modern and simplistic European apartment, I'm making floating shelves for everything. Including books and DVDs. So I thought I would build some tutorials in case you wanted to see how I did it. The DVDs aren't perfect, but they work.

1. You'll need some DVD cases, cutting tools, bolts, and L brackets. I chose the four X-Men DVD's so that they matched as a set. (Yes, I'm weird like that.)

2. Measure where the L bracket will go. (That would be the center.)

2. Use your cutting tool to cut a notch in the case. (Patience with this.)

4. A notch for both sides of the bracket so that it lies flush with the edge and the case can still be closed.

5. Use whatever means necessary to poke holes where your bolts go on the top of the case. I used screws first and then made the holes bigger with my screw driver. (The softness of the case can be good and the bane of your existence. Yes, I broke one of the cases and had to switch it out for another.)

6. Attach your bracket with the bolts and nuts. Make sure to get bolts that fit inside the case and you should be able to just shut the case like normal. (My husband got all the materials for me. I know if I had been left to myself, the brackets would be too long and the bolts would be as well.)


7. Hang the shelves on your wall and pile your other DVDs on top. I only put nine on top of each of these. My husband thinks if we put another bracket across the length of the case they would be stronger. But I have no problem with just nine DVDs on each stack. (They haven't fallen down yet.)



When I have our floating books up on the wall I'll post a tutorial for that as well. Hope you like this. Let me know if you try it out!

The Winner

Guess what Mom...you finally won one of my give-aways! Your perseverance in playing every time has paid off. You get a set of word beads from nomadcraftsetc. Thank you to everyone who came and played. I was very excited about this prize because it so aptly matches the game.

Mouse Without a Name Travels the World

This is (mouse without a name)'s plane ride across the Atlantic. He enjoyed it immensely, seeing as he had an entire seat to himself. Every time I tried to put my feet up on his extra part of seat, he pushed me off! He was a little disappointed that he didn't get to look out the window at the vast expanse of water. When we landed in Germany he was refreshed and ready to explore, while Albert and I just wanted to sleep.

Your help is needed again. I'm going to pare down the list of names to three:

Hanz
Piepsen - German for squeak
Sam - Acronym for Samantha (my niece) and Mouse

So if you wouldn't mind voting again, between these three names. Thanks! The mouse appreciates it and so do I.

Give_Away! Word of the Week

This week we have a give-away sponsored by nomadcraftsetc. They are giving away your choice of letter beads (up to 10 letters). Isn't that the best prize for Word of the Week? Very apt. So onto the game. Don't know why I picked this one; it doesn't match the weather at all, but I found some really cool items. These four pictures have one thing in common. Guess correctly in the comments and you will be entered in the drawing for the prize. You can click on the pictures to see the items or click on the shop names to see the shops. I'll leave this open until Friday.

nomadcraftsetc.etsy.com

Gallery360.etsy.com

beachgrasscottage.etsy.com

lizix26.etsy.com

Free Desktop Calendar

I decided when I started making calendars for this year that I would offer a free one each month. Let me know if you like this idea, and I will keep it going. Also, please leave a comment if you use this one so I can keep track of how popular it is.

Sorry this one is a little late. I will usually put them out a few days before the new month.

Just click on the picture. When it comes up in its own browser window, right click and save the picture somewhere on your computer. Then go to that location, right click on the picture, and set as desktop background. Voila, you have a photo calendar on your computer!

What color to paint?

I'm really having trouble deciding what color to paint my accent wall in our new living room. The couch we want is a dark grey, so I'm thinking of going with a red or blue. Sadly, I didn't take these beautiful rose pictures. But now I'm considering buying roses just to take pictures! Ok, back on track. Here are close to the color choices.


And here is the wall. Don't pay attention to the curtains, the previous tenant left those here, and I can keep them or move them to a different room. There is a lot of light in this room. The floors are a light wood (linoleum). And the wall I'm talking about is on the far right next to the windows. It goes up into the gallery area. Our couch would go against that wall. I'm really taking into consideration the feel of each color.

Blue is a cool color and will make the room feel bigger, even though it already is. It will also have a calming effect. When you see blue, what do you think of? I think of clouds.

Red is a warm color and will make the room feel closer. It makes your blood pressure go up. What do you think of when you see red? Besides red being my favorite color, I think of hot. (I know you can't really think of hot but that's where my mind goes.)

Please let me know what you think! I'm really torn between the two because I've done red a lot, but I like it so much.

The Unveiling

Time for my big surprise. And it's actually mostly for my niece, but I wanted to share it with my readers as well. I nicknamed my niece Squeaker when she was just a few days old because she squeaked instead of crying. It soon became a tradition to get her mice from the places we traveled. (My sister used to receive boxes and I received bells from our grandparents when they traveled.) So while I was sitting in Washington D.C. for a month I was hatching a plan. I went and bought a very cute mouse who I need your help naming. I will put a poll on the side of the blog for the next few weeks, because he really needs a name. And if you have any suggestions that aren't in the poll, just comment!

My few name choices:
Hanz
Von Mousenburg
Little Mouse
Piepsen (read peepsen, German for squeak)

And here is the first of many pictures to come of (mouse without a name) traveling the world:

The Answer and A Deutschland Adventure

I'm sitting in Albert's office writing this blog post...because we locked ourselves out of our new apartment. In Deutschland the doors lock like a hotel room, the instant you shut the door you better have your key because it is locked tight. Luckily, we live ten minutes from the office and found someone to let us in (considering Albert's badge is in the apartment along with cell phones). We called a locksmith and Albert is over there now. Hopefully he calls me in a few minutes.

Since I'm here...the answer is

tea

and I would really love some right now. I plan to make myself a cup the instant we get back in. So when you move to Deutschland, remember, the doors lock automatically and you need to carry your keys!

Word of the Week

Every year around this time of year Albert's grandma has a party. These four pictures have something in common with that party. Guess what it is in the comments. You can click on the pictures to view the products, or the shop names to view the shops. I'll post the answer when I can (internet access is choppy during the move).

terrapop.etsy.com

edclay.etsy.com

TheJuicyPeach.etsy.com

teaman.etsy.com

If you have an etsy shop and would like to have a give-away for one of your items, let me know! I will feature you in another Word of the Week and display an ad for you on the side of my blog for two weeks.

A quick note