Carol's Notebook – Page 221

My Favorite . . Website to Shop for Books

February 7, 2018February 7, 2018 by Carol18 Comments

My Favorite.. is a weekly meme hosted by Maureen’s Books. In this meme we share every week something we love with each other. Because let’s face it.. The world can be a dark place and it’s time to share something positive. For more info: My Favorite Meme. I admit it: I'm an Amazon girl. First, there's something magical about pre-ordering a book and just having it show up on my Kindle. Second, we currently have Amazon prime and that two-day shipping is awesome, if a bit too tempting. I just told someone the other day that I'm glad we don't have Alexa, because I'm pretty sure I would go broke from impulsively ordering books. What's your favorite website to shop for books? Join in at Maureen's Books....

First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros

February 6, 2018February 5, 2018 by Carol14 Comments

Every Tuesday Vicki at I'd Rather Be At the Beach hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros, where we share the first paragraph or two of a book we are reading or thinking about reading soon. Mine comes from Murder Has a Motive by Francis Duncan. Lydia Dare was dining with a murderer. If she was afraid there was no trace of her fear in the hazel eyes that were regarding her companion across the snowy table with its scintillating burden of silver and glassware, polished and displayed, as she knew, in her honor; nor was there any tremor of the surface of the liquid to betray a nervous unsteadiness of the slender fingers in which she held the glass she was raising to her lips. I have to admit this opening grabbed my attention. How about you?...

Readers’ Workouts – 2/6

February 6, 2018 by Carol8 Comments

How long til Spring? We're supposed to get snow again tonight. :( This week's activities: Thursday - Elliptical, Pilates Friday - Pilates Sunday - Elliptical Dinners: Tue: Chicken lo mein Wed: Spaghetti Thur: Chicken lo mein left-overs Fri: Grilled cheese with avocado and tomato soup Sat: City chicken, potatoes au gratin Sun: Cheesesteak sandwiches, chips and cheese dip, Reese's nachos (Super Bowl food - don't judge) Mon: Chicken chow mein (Report card celebration! Amber made the principal's list again with at least a 4.23. We think her band teacher might have forgotten to give them the honors credit, so it should probably be a bit higher. I think the kids'll check on it today.) Goals for February Gym - 4 times (Current: 2) Pilates - 12 times (Current: 2) Yoga - 1 28 pts in the #Feburpee Challenge (Current: 3) Meal ideas for next week: "Skinny" eggplant parmesan Roasted chicken and potatoes French bread pizza Chicken enchiladas 2018 Fitness Goals: - Lose weight. Goal - Lose 25 lbs. (current: -6 lbs) - Run 4 races of any length - Hit my weekly step goal (average 8,000 steps/day)...

My Favorite . . Time to Read

January 31, 2018 by Carol12 Comments

My Favorite.. is a weekly meme hosted by Maureen’s Books. In this meme we share every week something we love with each other. Because let’s face it.. The world can be a dark place and it’s time to share something positive. For more info: My Favorite Meme. My favorite time to read is in the evening, preferably on the couch, under a blanket with the dog curled up beside me. I want to be someone who can read in bed in the evening, comfy, cozy and relaxed, but I fall asleep. When's your favorite time to read? Join in at Maureen's Books....

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

January 31, 2018February 12, 2018 by Carol5 Comments

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea alternates between positively boring and absolutely fascinating. At the story's opening, the seas are (maybe) being terrorized by (maybe) a giant monster. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist and narrator of the story, and his servant Conseil join an expedition leaving from New York to hunt the creature. Also among the crew is a Canadian whaler and master harpoonist, Ned Land. The ship finds the creature after a long search. It attacks, but the creature damages its rudder and our three protagonists are thrown into the water, only to be rescued by the monster, which, as we all know, turns out to be the Nautilus, created and commanded by Captain Nemo. Thus begins their journey of exploration under the seas, during which they travel the titular 20,000 leagues, or over 69,000 miles. First the boring. Aronnax is a biologist and Conseil is gifted at classification and they are both entranced with all the fish and sea creatures...

First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros

January 30, 2018 by Carol6 Comments

Every Tuesday Vicki at I'd Rather Be At the Beach hosts First Chapter, First Paragraph, Tuesday Intros, where we share the first paragraph or two of a book we are reading or thinking about reading soon. Mine comes from I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong. The Earth is 4.54 billion years old. A span of time that big is too mind-boggling to comprehend, so let's collapse the planet's entire history into a single calendar year. Right now, as you're reading this page, it is 31st December, just before the stroke of midnight. (Thankfully, fireworks were invented nine seconds ago.) Humans have only existed for 30 minutes or fewer. The dinosaurs ruled the world until the evening of 26th December, when an asteroid hit the planet and wiped them out (except for the birds). Flowers and mammals evolved earlier in December. In November, plants invaded the land and most of the major animal...