Hallo, alle meine deutschsprachige Freunde! Ich bin mit Google Translate , so jede Seltsamkeit vergeben. Ich kann nicht Prongslet genug danken für die Übersetzung meiner Geschichte "Hiss Me, Harry" und ich bin so glücklich, meine lustige kleine Geschichte von mehr Menschen gelesen werden konnte.
Vielen Dank, und ich hoffe, dass Sie es so viel wie ich Spaß Schreiben hatte!

Hello, all my German speaking friends! I am using Google Translate, so forgive any weirdness. I can't thank Prongslet enough for translating my story "Hiss Me, Harry" and I am so happy my funny little story could be read by more people.
Thank you and I hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it!

Hi, all! Long time, eh?
Just popping in to let you know I have my very own website and I blog on there. So come on by and see me sometime, if'fn you wanna. It's at lddurham.com.

I'm currently working on a new novel, as well as editing my Joyboy anthology stories. THAT particular job is taking FOREVER, omg. I had to change the location as well as make them better and fuller stories. I'm working on Island Ink first, natch. My goal is to have them ready for a xmas release, but we'll see. The hardest part is having to deal with the character of Brodie. Oh man, he is such an ass in the first stories. His growth is the driving force of the over-arching plot line, but he is kinda hard for me to handle while knowing who he'll be later. I wanna fix him up now!

I'll try to stop in here more often. I miss you guys!

Who likes food gifts for the holidays? Please answer and be honest!

I'm trying to think up gifts for people and I want to know if I go cooking up a storm, will it be gratefully, or obligingly, accepted.
If you do like food as a gift, do you have any caveats?

Sophie, my daughter, told me of this incident, which is awesome because she is normally the kid whose buttons are easily pushed. I'm so happy for her...

While on the bus:
Sophie to her friend: Bye! See you tomorrow!
A boy who bugs Sophie, imitating her: Bye! See you tomorrow!
Sophie stops, turns, and says in a haughty voice to the boy: Your Sophia impression SUCKS!
The boy's friends all start laughing and one says loudly: Oooh, burned!
Sophie walked off with a smirk on her face.

That's my girl!

"I don't know why they have to have boy toys and girls toys. They should just have toys. Girls like Legos and boys like My Little Pony. It's dumb to make them different."
-My beautiful daughter this morning.

Anyone else watching Sleepy Hallow and enjoying it?
I started it just to see how they'd pull it off since I thought the premise was a little... strained. I figured it was going to be a Grimm knock-off. But I am pleasantly surprised by it all. I'd prefer less Christianity lore, but otherwise, I've enjoyed the acting, the excellent thriller parts, the bits of history lessons, and the fact that Ichabod is British and intelligent. Putting together two of Washington Irving's tales was pretty cool.

What do you think?

This is me just last month at a festival where my troupe was performing. Just thought I'd show off a little.

My wife put on some creepy ring tones for Halloween. One of them has a child calling out "Mommy" in a freaky, echo-y, must-save-my-baby kind of way that I really don't like to hear. It seriously wigs me out.
She laughs.
I wonder if she laughed when I sent her a Joann's coupon just now so she could be woken by a woman rasping "Answeeerrr meeeee... Answeeeer meeeeee!"

My dogs make so much noise all the time that I am so conditioned to telling them hush, I automatically try to shush the neighbor's dog two doors down who can't possibly hear me.
I think this means I am now barking mad.

I called out to my wife: Babe! I really love your peaches, I wanna shake your tree.
She called back: Ok.
Boy Child walked in just then and said: Oh! There are peaches on the tree?

Boy Child, my son, is 13 and in eighth grade. His sister, Girl Child, is 9 and in fifth grade. Boy Child is autistic and has ADHD. He's trying to write a research paper and his sister had to spell out "taught" and "barely" for him. She then came in where I was sitting and whispered, "He doesn't know how to spell a lot of words."
"I know," I whisper back. "Thanks for helping him."
She gave me a look, giggled, and said, "But he's in eighth grade."
"I know. Don't make fun. Just help him when you can," I answered. She looked at me again for a moment, nodded, and headed off to play.

I think this is the moment that she has begun to realize her responsibility for her brother. The moment when she actually took a little responsibility for him and is beginning to realize that the boy she grew up with really is different from others and not just her "annoying older brother." Kind of a bittersweet moment, really.

While watching season one of Doctor Who with the kids (because that's what good parents do), we came to the debut of Captain Jack Harkness. In the scene, Jack is watching our heroine dangle from a Barrage Balloon during the London Blitz, and true to our captain he says, "Nice bottom." His compatriot in arms believes he's talking to him, and Jack says, "Sorry old man, but you have a good bottom, too." And proceeds to smack the other officer on the ass. Boy Child laughed but nine-year old Girl Child sat back and said with a shake of her head, "Inappropriate." She smiled when I laughed but I admit to being a bit shocked that I am raising a Puritan. I'm looking forward to her teen years and my ability to embarrass her with hardly any work.

Mpreggers, start your engines.


Hilarious and fascinating at the exact same time.

I started taking belly dancing classes this month (American Tribal Style, if you're interested). So tonight was my third class and we're in the rec center's dance room. Huge mirror in front of me and I realize I'm not watching myself in the mirror enough to know if I'm getting the moves or not. I don't particularly like looking at myself. I have large hips, turned in knees, my waist is off-centered (it's like a scoop is missing out of my left side a bit), and I've gained back some of the weight I had worked hard to lose.

But then I had this amazing moment. I don't know where it came from, but I had a realization: I am missing a kidney, thyroid, and appendix. I have scar tissue constantly threatening to choke out my intestine and chronic headaches, and I'm still dancing! Ha! I said to myself. Look at this jacked up body go, bitches!

And I flowed with the music and was magnificent! It was a pretty stupendous moment which is why I had to share it with you.

You ever have one of those amazing moments of clarity?

Last night we watched the last of season 4 of Doctor Who. The end of Ten.
How heart-ripping, gut-wrenching was that? I cried.

I want to like Eleven, but I think I need more time to grieve.

In similar news, only in season two of Torchwood. Not getting the whole Gwen/Jack thing, but as long as they keep giving us more Ianto, I'll deal. Also, does anyone else want to see Capt. Jack Harkness and Capt. Malcolm Reynolds (Firefly) on a sexy adventure? 'Cause I'm thinking that would be so amazing, I'd die happy. Just from their smug grins after doing something clever, the world would expand in awesome vibes.

Anyone else Vegan or Vegetarian? I've been vegetarian for... about a year-and-a-half now, I think. And I went vegan* about a month ago. Wondering if anyone else is, too.

Other than the protein question, I think the most common thing I hear from other people is, "I could never do that, I don't like vegetables." The funny part is neither do I. Or I should say neither did I. Even worse, due to abdominal scarring and such, I can't actually digest a lot of veggies. Crazy, huh? And yet, here I am, a vegan.

Right now I don't have a very healthy diet, sadly. A lot of processed faux meat products and carbs. But I signed back up for the local CSA-type thing we have out here where we get a box of organic veg and fruit straight from the local(ish) farms, so I am very excited about that. And I found this awesome vegan slow cooker book, which means I can soften all the veg enough for my guts to process them. Sure, I lose some nutrients, but I still get more than none. And I don't have to go to hospital with another intestinal block. So, you know, that's a plus.

I like veggies now, because I learned how to cook them for taste. As Alton Brown said, many people don't like vegetables because they were taught to not like them through bad cooking. (So, I get to blame my mom! Boo yah!)

I was just wondering if there are any other of my kind out there. Or even if you wanted to explore it a bit and chat. Cool recipes, blogs, product or book recs?



*I am not a mean, look-down-upon-thou, preachy vegan. Promise. Some of those bitches be crazy!
I'm an ethical vegan: I do it because it doesn't harm the planet, people, or animals. Health benefits are just the added bonus. So, this isn't a phase. It's for life.

And I just figured out what and where AO3 is! Neat! It's like I'm a newbie all over again, fumbling about to find out what all the cool kids are doing. And you cool kids have been so busy. I love it! Now, I'll just knock on the AO3 door and hope I gets an invite in. *looks pointedly about the room*

I don't know why I ever wandered away from my home. I really don't. I don't even have a fun adventure to write about. I just feel like Gollum, coming out of the cave after a hundred years, feeling all mean and yucky and wondering if I can catch the pretty again.

I am so 2010. I mean, all my icons are completely out-of-date and I have links to Myspace and Greatest Journal on the side, here. How gauche. I need a new wardrobe and catch up with the times, man! I have a shopping list, oh! And I have a tumblr account now. Is anyone here on there? I just got it today and can't say I'm working it well or using proper tumblr ettiquette, but it seems fun.

And can anyone direct me to an icon stylist? I'm looking for the newest in Sherlock and Dr. Who, preferably Nine or Ten. And anything in a lovely Jack Harkness is always welcome in my wardrobe. Now onto my fandom terms. I am sure I am out-of-date with those, as well.

I'm a huge fan of Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity show. And now they've gone and added this "Scottish Fantasy" character.

I do believe it's time for a new trip to Las Vegas!!

I am trying to figure out DW. It seems like I should know this, and yet, I am not sure if I am "friends" with people. Do I subscribe to them? Am I in a circle and who's am I in? Can it be a square or possibly a triangle? How do I find people on here? Am I alone, in the dark, talking to myself? Is anyone out there? I am pressing my face to the glass. Can anyone see me?