It's a Book-Reading Sunday

More books from my 2009 reading list:

The Lady Elizabeth by Alison Weir - 3
Not as good as her straight history books, but this novel about Queen Elizabeth when she's a child and teenager is rich with color and history.

The Lost Art by Simon Morden - 2
Great idea, not so great execution. It's a sci-fi book.

Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris - 3.5
I won't quite give it a 4, but this book has stuck with me. Just your normal everyday novel, with a beautiful story.

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink - 3
Rather sexy with a turn you won't expect. I learned a lot about Germany after World War II that I didn't know. Did you know some of the Nazi's were put on trial for war crimes? I didn't until I read this. It's a tough concept to think about because weren't they just doing what their superiors told them to do?

Sleep, Pale Sister by Joanne Harris - 3
Great writing, but a story that was dragged out beyond it's point of interest. It's told from multiple points of view and has strange turns and twists like any gothic novel should.

The Big Fellow by Frank O'Connor - 2
To tell you the truth, I was so confused that I barely read this book. There were so many random names thrown in that I felt like to keep up I had to keep looking back, but I didn't have the energy to look back. I read this non-fiction with my book club so we could watch the movie with Liam Neeson, which made so much more sense than the book.

The Door in the Hedge by Robin McKinley - 4
Nothing will match her book Beauty, but this one was just as fantastical and amazing. It is a mix of four stories, two well known and two original. For anyone who likes reading about princesses, fairies, and magical frogs definitely pick up this book.

Gift From the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh - 2
If you want to discover who you are as a woman read this book.

The Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin McKinley - 2
Another version of Robin Hood. I know she put a lot of research and time into this book, but it was just really slow for me.

Paper Butterfly by Dianne Wei Lang - 3
A mystery, not my norm. I listened to this one on tape with my sister on a road trip. Only problem was, we figured out the end before it happened. I like guessing at mysteries, but I don't like the ones that I actually solve.

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson - 2
I have to love classics, and after I saw the movie and it made me cry I had to read this one. But it wasn't as strong as the movie and fell flat for me. Makes me wonder if it would have been better if I had read it before the movie.

The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons - 4
I've never read a World War II book from the Russian side of things. It was a beautiful love story and had a lot of history that opened my eyes.

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.

March Calendar

Spring has decided to arrive. It's been sunny most of this week. Everyone on our street is out gardening or tinkering with their cars and motorcycles. I took this photo back in Colorado when we had a particularly crazy rainstorm that dumped a lot of water but only lasted a few minutes. Then the sun came out again, like it always does in Colorado.

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!

Our Winner

Thanks for playing guys. I really love this necklace and am excited to give it to

Kelli

Thank you again to chinacherie for the prize. We have another give-away coming up soon. Yay!

Déjà vu

I feel the way I did when I graduated college: completely lost. At that time I was looking for a job because I had gotten married the day after my graduation, and my husband was still in school. My parents were lovely and let us live in their mother-in-law suite. But every job I found was either not in Colorado or required experience. I got to a point where I was going to start my own proofreading business, but that didn't bring in enough money. I ended up working for my dad as a veterinary technician. Not exactly the kind of experience an English major needs. But it was a very good job and I loved it.

Now we've moved to Germany and I'm kind of repeating the steps over again. I don't have much to do here, and when I get bored I get depressed and cranky. I'm one of those people that has to be constantly doing something. Hence, I had three other jobs to supplement the full-time one with my dad.

I have a lot I would like to do. I would love to work for a publishing company and edit novels. I would love to continue building the wedding photography business with my friend back in Colorado. I would love to make my etsy shop work and be a creator. But I can't edit in German, my friend is in Colorado not Germany, and the shipping and overhead costs from Germany are insane! Am I making excuses? Let me remedy that.

I have reopened the idea of being a freelance proofreader. Any etsians out there that want your blog posts proofed before they go live? Or do you have a newsletter you want an experienced editor to glance over? I can do that.

I'm also going to make some fliers and hang them up on the bases and in English stores around Stuttgart to see if anyone wants a portrait photographer. I've found that shooting people is really what I love to do. Engagements, families, actors and musicians, really I'll take anybody.

The etsy store is not completely lost, I'm still researching possibilities. Hang in there with me while I work on it.

Word of the Week - Give-Away!

Hello. This week is a give-away! Yay! ChinaCherie is giving away one of her beautiful bee wings necklaces.You can choose silver, brass, or gold. So, these four photos have one thing in common, guess correctly what it is in the comments and you'll be entered in a drawing for the necklace. You can click on the images to view the products or click on the shop names to visit the shops. The answer will be posted on Friday along with a winner. Have fun!

chinacherie.etsy.com

toybreaker.etsy.com

RozArt.etsy.com

LazyDayCottage.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.

Read, Read, Read

The Language of God by Francis S Collins - 4
A very good book about the mix of God and science.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James - 3
I'm rating it a three just because I have a lot of respect for people who have the guts and the patience to take someone historical and write a fiction about them. It was good, but not on of my favorites.

The Six Wives of Henry the VIII by Alison Weir - 5
Yes, it was a five. An amazing history book that kept me enthralled through its entire bulk.

This Is Not Chick Lit Short Stories edited by Elizabeth Merrick - 2
They just weren't up my alley. But you might like them.

Who Switched Off My Brain by Dr. Caroline Leaf - 3
A how to on controlling anxiety and stress.

Truancy by Isamu Fukui - 4
Another prodigy writer, but he is very good. His world in this sci-fi was well thought out.

Here On Earth by Alice Hoffman - 3
I don't think there is a bad Alice Hoffman book out there.

Tristan and Iseult by Joseph Bedier - 4
You can never go wrong with classics. This one was beautiful. Basically another rendition of Romeo and Juliet, but better.

Business for Beginners byFrances McGuckin - ?
Another that I can't rate. Read it if you need to start a business.

Craft Inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco - 3
I have to rate this one just because it was so wonderfully done. The design of the book alone is stunning. She hit a niche that is very big right now, and she did it well.

The Loon Feather by Iola Fuller - 3
Really great historical story about the Indian tribes in Michigan.

Hard Laughter by Anne Lamott - 4
This is one of my favorites by her. It's a fictional autobiography about a family and their lives when their father gets brain cancer. Her first novel.

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.

The Answer

The answer is most definitely

buttons

I just loved all the buttons I found so I made it the word. Remember, next week is a give-away!!!

Word of the Week

Hello! The sun is shining, there's pretty snow on the ground, and I have a cup of tea. I also have some exciting news, next week we're having a give-away! So remember to come back and play next week.

These four pictures have one thing in common, guess what it is in the comments. You can click on the pictures to view the items, or click on the shop names to visit the shops. I'll post the answer tomorrow.

TheKitschEnd.etsy.com

veronicabuttons.etsy.com

Buttonhead.etsy.com

katieleroy.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.

Küss Mich! Kiss Me!

So, no, this didn't have to do with Valentine's Day. I just happened to find some really awesome products that had to do with

kisses

I even forgot how appropriate the answer was until I was posting it. Tells you how involved in this holiday I am. I don't entirely agree with the whole idea. Why do I need a specific day to tell my family and loved ones that I love them? It's so not spontaneous when a guy proposes on Valentine's. Or even just takes his girlfriend/wife out on a date. It's like a catch-all day for the guys who forget to pamper their women. And I just won't take that as an excuse.

So here's to all the other days in the year that someone gives you a kiss.

Word of the Week

No matter how much I try to convince you, you still won't believe me. But this really has nothing to do with it being February. Or the 14th. Especially since that's next week. Welcome to Word of the Week. These four pictures have one thing in common, guess what it is in the comments. You can click on the images to view the products, or click on the shop names to visit the shops. I'll post the answer tomorrow.

tinatarnoff.etsy.com

MewPaperArts.etsy.com

blockpartypress.etsy.com

vintagebella.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.

Mein Armes Auto - My Poor Car

To continue the adventure...

We drove to Heilbronn to get a part for the Porsche on Friday night. It's about a half-an-hour away. Sad thing was, when we got there and looked at the distributor cap, it looked the same as the one we had only cleaner. So we were 98% sure it wouldn't fix the car. We went to Ikea. Put it on the car. No luck.

So we shopped for a few other things we needed, and we filled up the van we had driven so we didn't have to come back to Ikea more than once. On the up side, we have furniture now! On the down side, we called a tow truck. But it gets worse from there.

The car was in the parking garage, and tow trucks don't fit in parking garages. So with me steering, and making car noises, and Albert pushing we rolled through the garage. Thank God their exit is a big curly cue thing that I could just coast down. We got down to the outdoor parking lot and a nice German guy thought he could help us. I tried to explain that we knew what was wrong, but he didn't speak a lick of English and I don't speak car in German. He checked it out, asked if we had called for a tow, and we said thanks very much.

The tow truck got the car and followed us home. But our street is tiny. So they stopped at the beginning and took the car off. Another plus, it was cheap! Even cheaper than getting a locksmith to let us into our apartment. But then we had to push the car down our road. Which is ok, except it dips down and then has a slight incline for like 100 feet before our garage. Our neighbors have a driveway that is up, ours is down. Gotta keep looking at the positive here. We finally got it up to the garage and in, it's a tad crooked but that's ok.

Then, our poor muscles had to deal with a little more because we needed to unload the furniture. But we have furniture now! And I can unpack our suitcases!

We were sorely wishing for a hot tub that night. But the car is home and everything is settled. And I have furniture!

Adventures in Deutschland

I'm going to have to write a book about our disastrous adventures here in Germany. Last night, we went shopping at Ikea. We had a lot of stuff and piled it all into our Porsche. Then, Albert turned the key, the car started, and died. We ended up closing Ikea, so there was no one around, and even if there was they couldn't help. The rotor cap is broken, the engine wasn't getting any spark.

Luckily, there was a cart man nearby and I asked him in German if we could leave our broken car there overnight. He said it should be fine, but I needed to go speak with security. Another stroke of luck, a security guard happened to be walking by. He didn't speak English either so I asked again in German if it was ok to leave the car, we would come back in the morning. He said it was fine. I thought I had stretched my German enough for one night, but it doesn't stop there.

Thanks to my friend for checking on the internet where the nearest train was, we walked to the S-Bahn and were two minutes late for the train. We had to wait a half-an-hour for the next one on a very cold night. The only trains that go directly to our apartment are U-Bahns, so we took the S-Bahn to a main train station, Bahnhof. But, our luck had ended there. The U-Bahns and buses were on strike yesterday. No U-Bahns to ride home and it was way too far to walk. There's a hotel nearby with a taxi line, we caught a taxi.

I have really been wanting to practice my German, so I had a conversation with the driver. I asked him if he had made a lot of money that day because of the strike. He said he had only had time all day for one cigarette. But then he said, "Geld ist nicht alles im Leben." "Money isn't everything in life." I agreed.

We finally reached the apartment two hours after leaving Ikea. It was quite the adventure. And I'm so excited that I was able to carry on a small conversation.

Albert is working on finding parts and going back to the car today. Hopefully it's just the spark and not something else, and hopefully we don't have to have it towed.

Mehr Bücher - More Books

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott - 4
A classic for any writer or writer-wanna-be.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini - 2
He's a good writer, but he made his trilogy into four books, and he tends to have ideas that sound just like other fantasy writers.

Business Plan in a Day by Rhonda Abrams - ?
I can't rate this book. It was very good, but it's not like I would recommend it unless you needed to write a business plan.

Colors of the Mountain by Da Chen - 3
I love learning about other cultures through a good story.

Confessions of a Pagan Nun by Kate Horsley - 3
Cultures through fiction, loving it.

Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott - 3
I got on a Lamott kick and the books got boring by the end of it, but she is such a good writer.

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir - 4
If you want history books that aren't boring, read Alison Weir.

Paper Towns by John Green - 2
Very good, but exactly the same plot line as Looking for Alaska.

Rosie by Anne Lamott - 3
Part of the Lamott kick.

The Entrepreneurs guide to Writing Business Plans and Proposals by K. Dennis Chambers - ?
Again, if you really need it it was a big help.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Schaffer and Annie Barrows - 3
Wonderful book. If only the title had been better I would have picked it up a lot sooner.

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.

The Answer

This is the most snow Germany has had in thirty years. We've had two blizzards and some days of constant, lazy snowflakes. Everyone around me keeps whining about how cold it is and how they want spring or summer to come back. But I don't. I love

winter

and that's how it is. The lovely snow falling. A reason to wear sweaters. A reason to stay inside and cuddle with my husband, reading books and drinking tea. I get very sluggish in the summer. I don't do well with heat. I love this winter.

Word of the Week

Welcome to February. Here's how to play: 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 or click on the shop names to visit the shops. Have fun! I will post the answer tomorrow.

EastMesaDesign.etsy.com

irenesuchocki.etsy.com

seedsandbeads.etsy.com

zukas.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.