nichtszusagen

Labels: 4 stars, books, HistoricalRomance

// posted by Darla @ 11/12/2009 09:42:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

It's been quite a while since I've read a romantic suspense---odd, since it's one of my favorite kinds of books to read. I fell into this one right away. It reminded me of Barbara Michaels' books, with the creepy house with all those mirrors, and I was hooked from there.

Labels: books, flashback, gothic, RomanticSuspense

// posted by Darla @ 11/06/2009 04:34:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

You Are a Carousel

You are young at heart and a truly playful person. No one would ever accuse you of taking life too seriously. You are definitely in things for the fun. You find joy easily, and you are often building up anticipation for your next adventure. In relationships, you tend to want to be babied and taken care of. And while you may be a bit high maintenance, you are incredibly loyal. Your life is simple and satisfying. Each day you treat yourself to something you enjoy. You have a lot of emotional attachments, and experiences are extra vivid to you. You tend to be nostalgic and sentimental. The past is important to you. Comfortable around all living things, you have a special connection to animals and children. At your best, you are whimsical, free spirited, and creative. Even if your schemes seem a bit strange, they usually work out wonderfully. At your worst, you are spoiled, demanding, and impossible to satisfy. You've been known to act like a brat if you aren't getting your way!

Labels: quiz

// posted by Darla @ 11/03/2009 04:10:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

Labels: about me, random memes

// posted by Darla @ 11/02/2009 01:25:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

• So it's been two weeks since my last update, but there's not a whole lot to say.
  
  
• The big thing is that Camden came down with the flu. H1N1, we presume, since he had the flu shot a few weeks before he got sick. Poor kid was really sick for about three days, then miserable for another two. He's been back at school since Tuesday, but he still has a residual cough.
  
  
• Carl has a mild form, we think--he's got a cough and a low-grade fever. It was worst on Thursday, since Wednesday night he was at work until midnight because of a video teleconference with somebody back in the Pentagon on... (cue irony music) pandemic influenza. A lot of people were chastising him for going in to work on Thursday and Friday, and I have to say I see their point. He's the local subject matter expert on pandemic influenza, telling everyone to stay home if they're sick, but he goes in to work. Granted, he has an office to himself and can limit how much he exposes other people, but still.
  
  
• I, on the other hand, had one day when I had a mild temp and a scratchy throat, and that could have just been sleep deprivation. I'm trying not to be too proud of my immune system for fear that karma will kick me in the butt with a horrible case of flu. But I did read an article on Spark.com that said that people who exercised daily got sick less often. And it's been 7 weeks now that I've exercised daily, still going to the gym every other day and doing Callanetics on the off days.
  
  I still haven't lost an ounce--in fact, I gained a pound--but I'm getting slimmer. The biggest thing I noticed was when I put on thigh-high hose. Instead of going up to mid-thigh, they went all the way up. And then there was.... if any of my kids are reading this, STOP NOW TO AVOID FURTHER TRAUMA!!! I definitely noticed a difference during sex. Okay, I'm not going to get into details. But it was very cool. I even had more stamina, and I was only up to six minutes on the dread elliptical. Talk about motivation! I've even noticed a lot fewer of the age-related aches and pains. It's not as difficult to get up and down from the floor, and (okay, what does it say about me that what follows is what embarrasses me?) I don't grunt anymore when I bend over to tie my shoes.
  
  I realize I'm in danger of becoming one of those tiresome people who preach vigorous exercise to everyone, but just in case you're interested, it took six weeks of working out daily to get such noticeable results. Message: don't give up.
  
  
• My mother-in-law did indeed have a gallbladder infection. They kept her in the hospital on IV antibiotics to get the infection cleared up, and then were going to operate on Monday morning. Unfortunately, they neglected to tell her that, and they neglected to tell the nursing staff, or her nurse made a mistake, one or the other, because they served her breakfast Monday morning, and she ate it. Of course, you can't have surgery with a full stomach. What's irritating is that the doctor was told that she refused surgery--sounds like the nurse trying to cover up her mistake. Anyway, she's back home and scheduled for surgery on the 16th.
  
  
• Halloween is going to be very laid-back this year. The brother- and sister-in-law and nieces won't be coming, because they're going out to dinner for a friend's birthday. I'm really rather peeved. It's not like we can postpone trick-or-treating for the kids, but mostly I'm offended that a last-minute dinner invitation takes precedence over plans we made with them a month ago.
  
  They are coming over on Sunday, but now we have to come up with something to entertain them, rather than having the Halloween festivities to do so. I'm also annoyed that we're expected to be content with conversation and grilled burgers when we visit them, but that we have to provide some sort of entertainment for them to visit us. Argh.
  
  
• Last weekend, we went to the play The Mystery of Irma Vep with Carl's boss and his wife (S&R, who I mentioned in the last Weekend Update). It was very funny, once I figured out what to expect. I felt really bad that Camden was too sick to attend--he'd have loved it.
  
  

Labels: about me, weekend update

// posted by Darla @ 10/31/2009 10:27:00 AM 1 comments links to this post

Labels: 4 stars, action, books

// posted by Darla @ 10/30/2009 09:38:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

Originally written in 1982, this is a good introduction to Martha Grimes's Richard Jury mysteries.

I must confess that while Martha Grimes is a familiar name to me in the mystery genre, I'd never read any of her books until now.

This story is filled with the atmosphere of British mysteries, and features a mystery within a mystery--not only whodunit, but who-was-it-done-to.

A clever mystery with an engaging cast of characters, The Old Fox Deceiv'd has ensured that the next time I'm in the mood for a British mystery, Martha Grimes will be on my list of authors to look for.

Labels: books, flashback, mystery

// posted by Darla @ 10/30/2009 04:28:00 AM 0 comments links to this post

1. dolls from the toy museum

2. a flying monkey at the toy museum. heh.

3. the front of the castle

4. just a few of the many, many tour boats on the river

5. Dagny

6. Carl

7. a church--click to see the larger image here--the shape of the windows is very cool.

8. a random balcony. I was really struck by all the ornate architecture--you don't see all that much in Germany, for obvious reasons.

9. an ornate building

10.this red building is the front of the mall--we parked Moby in its underground parking garage

11. top part of a building

12. this was supposed to show the very old next to the very new. not sure it worked, but it's still a cool structure.

13. you'll have to click to see the brightly-colored Haribo car.

1. sdennard on dogs
2. Calico Crazy on songs
3. Alice Audrey on Sleepy Hollow
4. Julia on Black Hills
   
5. You're next!

Labels: about me, TT

// posted by Darla @ 10/29/2009 09:21:00 AM 5 comments links to this post