Wordless Wednesday #81

Check my sidebar for WW link ups or pop by my blog hop page! 

Our curious camera compilation can also be found here...

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Vocabulary Challenge #5

Here it is again, "100 Words Every High School graduate Should Know".  Last Vocabulary Challenge left us with #40 - Incontrovertible : impossible to deny or disprove.

Are you up for the next ten?

41) Inculcate
42) Infrastructure
43) Interpolate
44) Irony
45) Jejune
46) Kinetic
47) Kowtow
48) Laissez faire
49) Lexicon
50) Loquacious

Again, with some of the words I could narrow down the meaning but don't think I could just throw them in a sentence without actually looking up the definition.  I love using this challenge as a reminder that we should always keep learning, refreshing, & stimulating our minds.

How did you do with this round of vocabulary words?

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Book Tour #2

Even though I started the book tour off with a great sci-fi book, it was actually the following inspirational women's fiction novel that truly made me want to jump feet first into the Fire & Ice Book Tours.

Loud drum roll for...

BEAUTIFUL SCARS

The blurb provided to me about the book didn't offer a lot of detail, but it did stir my curiosity.  The book seems so real, it could happen to anyone.  How strong is a friendship?  How strong can someone be faced with life changing challenges again and again?  Beyond the emotional scars, what are the physical scars the main character has endured?
 

The blurb did exactly what it was supposed to, make me ask questions and want to read it to get answers!  I hope you all hop over to Danica's Book Corner to read the blurb yourself.  And of course the author, D.L. Johnson, has provided Fire & Ice with an excerpt of the book, Beautiful Scars.  Don't miss out!

 

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Sports & Kids

I am really curious how many sports or activities are your young children involved in?  Why?  Because now that my daughter is in Pre-K at a Dutch elementary school, I am realizing a lot of these kids lives are jammed packed.  Personally I feel one sport or activity outside of school for a small child is plenty.  They're young, they're worn out from school, and they need free time to rest or play quietly away from the hustle & bustle of school and sports.  My daughter takes swimming lessons (she's been in swimming lessons since she was 5 months old).  But when she started going to school 4.5 days a week, I questioned if the 45 min swimming class once a week after school would be too much.  But since she has already swam for so long, we figured we might as well keep her in until she gets her diploma.  Now that she's at school and hears other girls attend dance class, she wants to sign up also.  Dance & swimming, on top of school, at 4 yrs old, that's just too much right?  Like I said though, at her school some of the kids have 2-3 sports they are enrolled in outside of school.  Now I know American kids often have sports incorporated into school, Dutch kids also have P.E., but I am talking about after school activities, whether it be through the school or not.  At what age is it o.k to be enrolled in 2 activities?  When is it considered too pushy?  Sure I want to expose my daughter to sports & music, but I also don't want to overwhelm her and keep her so busy she misses out on just enjoying herself and being a kid.  What is your take on this? 

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Wordless Wednesday #80

Check my sidebar for WW link ups or pop by my blog hop page! 

Our curious camera compilation can also be found here...

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

GLOW 2013

We managed to see GLOW before it wrapped up on the 16th... some how schedules aligned and the weather fairly cooperated!  We were able to make it an extra special night by teaming up with friends & their kids and getting dinner reservations at the local soccer stadium.  What does soccer and GLOW have to do with each other?  Well, this year one of the light shows was presented at the PSV stadium, and because we ate there we were allowed to use special seats, avoiding the crowds, getting a private view, and we could watch the show repeatedly (the kids did)!  And we also fulfilled our daughters wish of visiting the inside of the stadium (the points are rolling in).
Besides the large soccer themed light show at the stadium, we were able to hit up 5 other displays before the kids collapsed.  The way the event route was set up this year not so many displays were located within child walking distance of our apartment.  So in order to see the group favorite at the end of the night we all hoped in my husbands SUV and drove to where the dragon/sea monster was situated.  There were quite a few attractions we would have liked to have seen but between the weather, distance, and hour, we had to end the night.  Needless to say the dinner and VIP show at the stadium pleased everyone enough it didn't matter.  As always I have pics for you, please excuse the quality, this year I only had my phone on me.  And don't forget to check out last year's post also (GLOW 2012).

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Snail Story

Do any of you have a snail or creature in your yard that has decided to make it officially their home?  Apparently we have a pet snail!  The snail decided to show its face about six months ago.  We were preparing our terrace for a bbq and when I lifted the cover on our picnic table there was a snail in a beautiful yellowish shell.  Immediately I grabbed my phone, snapped a pic, and ever since it has been one of my favorite Instagram pics.  Then a good few months went by before it turned up again, this time in one of our plant containers.  We accepted its presence and occasionally my husband would move it hoping to make it a little happier, maybe it would be more interested in the carrots than the weeds.  After my daughter saw the movie Turbo, her interest in the snail grew and we also decided to name it Turbo, just like the racing snail in the kids movie.  The other day my husband was clearing off the terrace to clean it with the high pressure hose when our daughter said, "hey, there's Turbo!"  Turns out my husband had stepped on it, but some how it survived (similar to the movie).  And yesterday before my husband went to play golf, he found the snail in his golf shoes which he often forgets outside.  And without telling me (I wasn't home) he placed the snail in a mug on the kitchen counter and left for golf.  When I returned home last night and started tidying up after putting our daughter to bed, I noticed the mug and tossed it in the sink not knowing there was a snail inside.  I didn't get around to clearing the sink until this morning (hey, it's weekend).  After loading the dishwasher I grabbed the wash cloth so I could finish up the dishes that didn't fit.  And when I lifted the cloth from where it was draped over the faucet I realized Turbo was hiding in the upper corner of the sink.  Naturally I freaked out and grabbed my camera again.  (Unfortunately the sink wasn't clean, so I will not be showing you those pics.)  Maybe other people dare touch snails and creatures, but not me.  I was going to leave the snail until my husband could deal with it (I was even starting to think he had set me up to see how long it would take me to clean out the sink, ha-ha!)  But when the snail decided to start creeping from one basin to another, I knew I had to do something about it.  Didn't want the little thing to get into any salt or sugar, or spread germs of course.  I have been holding on to some glass jars thinking about collecting bugs or worms for my daughter and now one had an official purpose!  It didn't take me long to collect different types of soil from containers on our terrace, but the real question was how to lure the snail.  (Keep in mind my 4yr old is watching everything.)  We hit up Google to see what snails eat, and luckily we had mushrooms in the fridge I didn't mind using.  After breaking one up and shoving into the small jar half full of soil we kept placing it in Turbo's path but again and again it avoided the jar.  Then finally it curiously crawled inside... YES!  Once it was safe inside I opened the door to outback and carried the jar & snail back out to the terrace.  My daughter was very impressed that we gave it a little house.  (Again, I took pics to share with everyone!)  I doubt the little snail will be in the jar the next time we check, hope my daughter is not too disappointed.  And then once we were back inside, I scrubbed the sink to no end and then hopped on my computer to share the story with you all!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Book Tour #1

Drum roll, please... I am now officially hosting book tours for Fire & Ice!  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a soft spot for western romance novels... well, the 1st book I am presenting you with is nothing of the sort!  (I like keeping you all on the edge of your seats!)

 

Another drum roll please for...

 

THE FIFTH COLUMN

 

When I read the blurb about this book my mind started swirling with images of an oppressive government where the people live in fear and robots & technology keep the people under control.  I immediately started plotting movie rights, just kidding ha-ha!  Needless to say "The Fifth Column" by Robert Corrado has grabbed my attention, so much so I want all of you avid readers out there to give it a shot!

 

Please hop over to Danica's Book Corner to get an official blurb & excerpt of the book as well as more information about the virtual book tour.


 

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Wordless Wednesday #79

Check my sidebar for WW link ups or pop by my blog hop page! 

Our curious camera compilation can also be found here...

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

GLOW Eindhoven

For those of you living in or around the Eindhoven area, GLOW is back!!!  GLOW is a huge event that combines light & art, there are displays throughout the center of town.  Displays range from actual pieces you can interact with to projections on towering buildings.  If you can find time to visit, GLOW runs November 9th-16th from 6:30PM-11PM.
 

We made out first attempt to visit on opening night with our family.  Our big mistake was arriving 45min early!  It was pouring with rain, we had 3 kids ranging from 4-12 yrs old with us, and it was freezing.  Some of the displays were delayed because of the rain and we just couldn't bare the weather conditions any longer and headed back home.  Luckily we have the rest of the week to get back out after sunset to take in the spectacular views.
 

Last year we participated in GLOW off. which was a fun way of unofficially joining in the event.  We projected a film of our silhouettes on the window of our apartment (center of town) and voilá, we had our on display.  And apparently this year our film has made it to GLOW off. again, and can be viewed at the Cultureel Buurtcentrum on Oranjestraat (not part of the official route, but close by)!
 

Once I actually get to the route & our entry, I'll be sure to snap a lot of pics and post them back here for you to enjoy!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

New Pages

The time has come to expand my blog!  I've added two new pages, Book Reviews & Blog Hops, so be sure to check them out!

I felt with my connections and my love for writing & books, it would be a good idea to start up a place to host & promote books that catch my interest.  I love a good romance, but who knows what will turn up!

I'm often looking for a central location for blog hops so that I can quickly & easily promote my blog and link up to blogs I might not have found on my own.  I finally decided just to create my own simple directory. 

If any of you want to see your books or blogs end up on one of my new pages please pop me an email and I will be sure to reply.  (contact information located on sidebar)

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Wordless Wednesday #78

Link up here for Wordless Wednesday!

Our curious camera compilation can also be found here...

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Different Times

We've decided to introduce our daughter to The Cosby Show and luckily enough we've been able to start with the pilot episode thanks to You Tube.  While watching the first couple episodes last night, my husband and I had a good chuckle, it's amazing how much has (and hasn't) changed since the 80's!  It really made my head start swirling, how different will our kids childhoods be than ours?  Don't get me wrong, I grew up in the 80's & 90's and we didn't have it hard at all.  But I started wondering what kids/teens these days do... do they still talk on the phone for hours to their friends... do they still write pages of notes to exchange with their friends between classes... do they even still see the importance of a library... do they even do homework without computers?
 

While watching The Cosby Show we had to explain to our 4 yr old that phones used to be connected to cords and you had to stay in one place to talk.  Then she saw a beeper/pager, we explained its simple function but I don't think she understood.  I'm sure she's going to start asking where the computers are soon.  I look forward to watching future episodes with her and answering all of the questions that will arise.
 

Besides technology changing, people have changed, we are desensitized.  Think of shows or movies that used to be considered controversial, and think of the market these days.  Even manners and respect has changed, I'm happy when my daughter says please & thank you, but my grandma still expects a "yes ma'am". 
 

Different times, different values.  Is it good or bad... it's both.

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica

Music Moments #5

The other day while watching The X Factor I made an interesting discovery.  There I sat thoroughly enjoying a ballad (great job Danie, even if they did vote you off) when it hit me which song the girl was singing... Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus.  It was too late I had already opened my mouth and announced to my husband that I liked the song, and we both burst out laughing when we realized it was a Miley Cyrus song!  But I must admit, even though she's having a Britney-Spears-lost-her-mind moment, the song is good.  The song only, not the video, or all the other antics she's up to!  Sometimes it takes someone else covering a number to open your eyes and ears to a decent song.  To be honest, I probably never would have given the song a chance... and it's easily avoidable considering I rarely listen to the radio or watch music videos.  So I guess, thank you X Factor, because I've listened to the song over and over again.

Besides Miley Cyrus' new number there's also another decent ballad in the charts right now, a nice surprise... Rihanna's Stay with Mikky Ekko.  Rihanna seems to be able to do it all, dance numbers and touching ballads, did you know she already has 12 #1 hits!

So what's on my playlist these days besides Wrecking Ball & Stay... other numbers I can't get enough of right now and you should definitely give a chance... Bruno Mars : When I Was Your Man and Pink & Nate Ruess : Just Give Me A Reason and some older ones... Plain White T's : Hey There Delilah and Radiohead : Creep  My playlists are generally highly influenced by one of two things, exercising or writing, and right now I'm working on a romance novel so my playlist is full of emotional ballads at the moment.  What's on your playlist these days? 

If you're interested in what other music inspires me in my day to day life or hobbies, check out old Music Moment posts!

Bye! Dag! Adios! Namaste!

:) Danica