family night last week, we talked about the importance of being creative. I got the idea from reading a Fancy Nancy book. Yep, gotta love that little diva. At least, we do in our house.  It was the one called Poet Extraordinairre. 

*This is a great article called 7 Writing Habits of Amazing Writers. Really Stephen King? Every day? Even Holidays? Wow.

*I've been thinking about humor, specifically how to capture it on the page. I found this article by Dave Barry.

*Recently I fell in love with The Plot Whisperer. Have you all heard of this rockin' awesome chickadee and her fabulous YouTube videos? I have learned loads from her. LOADS! She's made me see my middle grade novel in a completely different way...even old picture books I've written! You can see her first video Here.

*I adore this Belle dress-up tutorial.  Oh, and this Snow White one...sooooo cute, right? Hmmmm, I might have to make these for Zoe for her birthday.

*I haven't crocheted anything for a super long time. But THIS makes me want to take it up again. Ack! It's so cute!

I found out yesterday that before I head up north to the Advanced Writing Workshop I'm going to next weekend I need to read this book....



Oh. Shucks. An excuse to buy a new book. *big grin*

Jessica Garrison, the editor from Dial is going to be doing a presentation about the changes that were made to the book between when she accepted it and it became this lovely thing we can snag off the shelves. Sounds super interesting, right? I'm really excited.

And then since I *had* to order $25 worth of books to get free shipping from Amazon, I also ordered this bit of fun...



I love making stuffies.  And now that I have two girls, well, I should really be cranking out the soft dolls, right? They are quite fun to make and usually I make my own patterns but this can be time-consuming (and time wasting when the pattern is a gooby mess and I have to start over). So, I'm going to be kind to myself and try out some patterns which have already been made (and aren't potentially wonky...like mine.)

#1: I love the song New Soul by Yael Naim. Twice when I went into the Great Harvest bakery it was blasting over the sound system and I just felt like grooving around the bread shelves to the happy and fun tune. I found out the name of the artist and now I can groove around the kitchen table to it.

#2: We have high-speed internet. Finally. Yes, we've been living with dial-up internet for a looooong time. We just might upgrade to indoor plumbing next week.

#3: I should be working on Jasper. But I'm blogging. Uck. Blogs are such a distraction. So is peanut butter.

#4: I just finished reading Matched by Ally Condie. Wow. Wow. Wow. Brilliant and fun and such a fascinating world.

#5: I made a really really cute hair thingy the other day with some wide vintage looking creamish lace. I LOVE it and I wore it on a necklace the other day. No one seemed to notice how cool it was. What's wrong with you people?!  :)

#6: We took our kids to McDonald's last night to celebrate how well they're all doing in school. We've had parent/teacher conferences this week. 

#7: We bought A LOT of books at the book fairs. A LOT. I love it. I feel rich.

#8: I need to name and design some unusual cities in my WIP.  Fun, right? And I need to create a whole magical government and culture. Easy peasy. I wish.

#9: I've been trying to sell some craft ideas to Family Fun Magazine. I already subbed a couple ideas and I'm working on another one involving toilet paper tubes. I just need to get the pics done and write up the instructions. Another novel-writing distraction? Kind of. But Family Fun pays well and it would be nice to see a little green coming in with my writing. Instead of me just plunking away on the laptop night after night. Everyone likes a bit of validation, right?

#10: We took the kids to see a womens gymnastics meet at the college the other night. Wow! Those girls were amazing! I was so impressed with their dedication to the sport. Made me think of writing. And how I need to be more dedicated. And also...I'm really glad writing doesn't involve something like a floor excercise where I have to do flips in front of judges.  But speaking of writing....I better get back to Jasper.... Read the rest of this post

Alrighty, it's the end of the month.  It's time for my Itty Bitty Book Reviews (ok. sometimes it's hard for me to keep them itty bitty....). These are just the books I finished and the ones I loved.  I read a lot of books. But I didn't like all of them. I didn't even finish some of them.  I'll talk about some of those after this...

Young Adult and Middle Grade Novels:

The Grimm Legacy by Polly Schulman

Super fun! Seven-league boots, romance, mystery, a flying carpet and the best after school job ever. A unique book with a very likable main character who I wanted to see save the day and her new best friend (not to mention get the cute boy!)

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

A teenage girl's birthday wishes all start to come true.  A different one every day. So so funny! And sweet and romantic and brilliant. And who wouldn't love a book with a life-size My Little Pony prancing around?

Dear George Clooney, Will You Marry My Mom? by Susin Nielsen

Great title, right?  And it's a great fun read. I really felt the MC's pain and loss. But I love how she tried to find the perfect man for her mother...albeit George Clooney.  And I love the twisty ending.  So clever!

Alcatraz Versus the Shattered Glass by Brandon Sanderson

Oh. I don't know if I can even begin to write a review about this book or any of the Alcatraz books. It's vertually impossible to write an Itty Bitty Book Review for it or any of these books.  But. I. Will. Try. 

THESE ARE THE FUNNIEST BOOKS EVER!
(ok. that was short and to the point, right?)

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Ah, so great, so awesome, so.....like crack. I couldn't put it down. 

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George

Luckily when I had to put down the Princess of the Midnight Ball I was able to pick this one up.  Jessica Day George, you are a magical writer. But could you please hire someone to do my housework when I read your books? Because, really, noth

For many long and arduous years I have searched for the best playdough recipe. Not too dry. Not too sticky. Not too difficult to make.

And finally, yes, finally my quest is complete. I have found it! The Best Playdough Recipe Ever. Yes, that's right, The. Best. Playdough. Recipe. Ever.



I found the original recipe Here. But I tweaked it a bit. More flour, less oil, a substitution...

I tried making it with the cream of tartar....but I only had 1 1/2 tablespoons on hand. Ack! So, then I tried using Alum instead. None. Left. So....
I used cornstarch. Yes. Cornstarch (is there an echo in here?) And, voila!

Oh, and what could make this playdough even better? Of course! Glitter.

Get the recipe Here and whip up your own batch of Glitter Playdough (maybe we should call it Fancy Nancy Playdough?)

Um, do I want a chance at winning some free books? Free YA books? Um, yeah. Duh.

I read this post over on Cherylyyne's blog about her crazy-amazing 50 book giveaway to help promote the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop coming up in June. Seriously. She's giving away 50 books. Do you want a piece of the action? Then head on over to her blog and find out how you can get your name in the pot! I think I can swing it so I get six entries.

Speaking of WIFYR (the workshop), if you're interested in writing or illustrating for kids, this is a More Awesome than Awesome Sauce kind of conference. I've attended twice in the past.One year I took the picture book workshop from Rick Walton and then a few years ago I took the Fantasy and Science Fiction class from Dave Farland. Both classes were brilliant. And I'm wishing I could go this year. Not only because when I go I learn loads, get to hang out with writing friends and spend a week in a hotel all by myself hogging the sheets and pillows and eating take-out from Panda Express and Chick-Fil-A, but also because of.....

Holly.
Black.

Yes, THE Holly Black is going to be presenting.

But my wee girl is too small to leave behind. Sure, I could cart along my whole monkey troop up north with me, pitch a tent in a scenic park and let them fend for themselves as I attend classes, but for some reason I'm thinking this might not be a good idea. *sigh*

So, I'll have to wait. Maybe next year I'll be able to run away to the fabulous land which is the Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop. You can catch a video about the crazy cool shingdig Here.

I love baby slings. I've carried all our little ones in them, except our first. I hadn't discovered the wonderful world of baby-wearing yet. But I have to say...I think I'd had to have stopped having kids if I didn't have baby slings.



I wear my baby at church, trudging around wal-mart, going for walks, as I whip up dinner, while volunteering at the school, perusing books at the library, dancing around the house or scouting for a Christmas tree as I'm doing in the pic.

So many people ask me about the slings I have. Whether I made them or sell them or where I bought them. I bought my first one when Emmett was tiny. It is a padded ring sling called a NoJo. I enjoyed it at the time, but have since moved onto the pouch slings, which I do make. The NoJo was a bit bulky and I like that a pouch sling can be folded up and put in my bag for when I'm not using it.


The tutorial I use can be found Here. There are even directions on the site for making a child-size sling. I made one for Zoe when Molly was new. She needed to pack her baby dolls around like her mom. :)

I make the reversible sling but with the same fabrics on both side. I made three of them before Molly came along (I needed options!) and luckily she loves to be packed around in it as much as her older sister and brothers did. They are super easy to make. Really. They are. Straight lines. One simple curvy line. So easy.

I'm not sure how other people manage to go anywhere with a baby without a sling. I guess they pack their wee one around in that heavy car seat? I have too many kids and not enough hands for that method!

The Little Rabbit series
written and illustrated by Harry Horse

I love these sweet stories, the mischevious, but kind-hearted Little Rabbit and the amazing illustrations. We just checked out Little Rabbit's New Baby. And I was sad to read on the flap that Harry Horse passed away in 2007. I can't remember how many of the books there are. There's a Christmas one, one about school, and another about runnign away. So, at least four of them. I love them all and I need to get them for our home library. Although I haven't read the Christmas one, yet. But I'd buy it anyway based on the others I've read.

Bertie Was a Watchdog
by Rick Walton, illustrated by Arthur Robins

This is one of the best read aloud books. I love love love it. And my kids adore it, as well. It's funny and clever. I could (and have) read this one over and over again.

Whales on Stilts and the others in this series
by M.T. Anderson

I have an undying and absolute love for these books. They are brilliantly funny, a tongue in cheek kind of funny, which I adore. We listened to the first book as a family. Everyone loved it and begged for it to be turned on when we got in the suburban. And we listened to most of the second one recently. Still need to finish it. Quirky and weird and so very clever. The story-line is crazy and so smart. M.T. Anderson is some kind of amazing.

The Princess of the Midnight Ball
by Jessica Day George

I just finished reading this one. It was a beautiful retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. I love the romance and how the bulk of the story is told from the handsome young soldier bent on rescuing the oldest daughter. I had the hardest time putting it down and as I went through the day my mind kept returning to the story and wishing I could hide in my room and devour the rest of it.

Bark, George
by Jules Feiffer

Ha! This is one of the best picture books ever. The silly tale makes an excellent read aloud. And the illustrations of the momma dog as the doctor pulls out each of the animals from her little pup's mouth (you'll just have to read the book in order for that last sentence to truly make since!) are hilarious. And the look on the momma's face as she's trying to get her little one to just obey and bark already! I think every momma can identify with that feeling.

When Dinosaurs Came with Everything
by Elise Broach illustrated by David Small

This is a favorite in our house. Especially the part where the boy is so excited about getting yet another dinosaur that he raises his fists in the air with his fingers pointed. My kids like to imitate that move. I love this story and I'm so impressed with the author's creativity.

"This morning I took out a comma, and this afternoon I put it back again."  Oscar Wilde

 Revising a novel is hard. It's really really hard*. And what's the hardest part? Besides making myself sit down and turn the laptop on and actually write instead of curling up with a new book from the library or plopping down in front of the tube to watch an episode of Dr. Who.  Mmmm, I love Dr. Who. Great show?

Deleting! 

I do not like deleting things.  Ok. Well, I don't mind deleting really horrible writing and, unfortunately, my manuscript is liberally sprinkled with some pretty bad writing.  But it's the good writing, the writing I really really like, the writing which makes writing friends write LOL or HA! in their critiques.  It's soooo hard to get rid of it. 

"Rewriting is like scrubbing the basement floor with a toothbrush."  Pete Murphy

A great on-line friend that I hope to meet in person someday(which might be possible now that she's on a state away!), Rose or olmue for the livejournal set, gave me some excellent advice last week.  She shared something learned from Seressima on the Blueboard. She said the first chapter is prime real estate.  I love it.  Prime Real Estate.  She went on to say, (I hope she doesn't mind if I quote her) "And whatever you stick in that spot is a promise to the reader that it will be important."

Oh. Wow. I had to really look at my first chapter.  And, snap. I had to Delete. Whole paragraphs! Paragraphs with snark and sass. Have I mentioned how much I love snark and sass?

Sad. Day.

"The wastebasket is the writer's best friend."  Isaac Singer

See in my first chapter I have a bit of a nasty character. She is deliciously wicked and very fun to despise. She is really fun to write about. Really really fun.

BUT she is not in most of the book. She is not a key character. She's simply atmosphere for those first few chapters. She exists soley to make MC absolutely miserable at the beginning of the book.  But I was spending so much time on her!  And it was funny. But it was also misleading.

*sniff* So, I deleted and deleted and deleted. I salvaged the snark and sass that I could. But some had to go. Although I'm hoping to recycle it into a few of the later chapters.

"The beautiful part of writing is that you don't have to get it right the first time, unlike, say, a brain surgeon. You can always do it better, find the exact word, the apt phrase, the leaping simile."  Robert Cormier

*Post is best read with a high-pitched whine. Really. Put your back into that whine.

_______________________________________________________________________
This post originally posted HERE.

I'm going to try to keep track of the books I read this year.  So, while I didn't read as much as I would have liked to in January, here's a look at what I enjoyed along with some small reviews...

The Name of the Book is Secret by Psuedonymous Bosch


This was a very entertaining book. Funny and so wonderfully wacky. It had a bit of a slow start but I stuck with it and was very glad I did.  My 11 yo loves this book and the others in the series.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

I read this one years ago.  It had been long enough that I didn't completely remember what happened. I love the main character (I can't remember her name now...). I love how Lois Lowry wrote a book about a girl with a disability and while the disability impacts the plot, it's not what the book is about.  I love the magic system she creates in these books.



The Messenger by Lois Lowry

I've read the Giver, too.  But I hadn't read this one before. I love the worlds Lois Lowry creates.  Excellent. I was left wondering about the forest though. How did it change? What made it that way? What was with the guy in charge of the market? How did he trade the way he did?



The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

I can't even begin to say how great this was. I couldn't put it down. The premise is fantastic.  Totally and completely great.  A secret society of  Cindys devoted to building up women and putting a stop to the Wickeds of the world. Yeah, I've known a few Wicked Girls in my lifetime. So, it was an awesome ride.  Throw in some hot boys, gadgets and a secret headquarters....oh, and the MC gets a great makeover.  Yep, totally fun.



Fairest by Gail Carson Levine



I read this one years ago, too. I love the character Aza. I wanted so badly for her to see her own worth. I loved watching her gain a backbone and get back at that nasty queen.  I loved the prince and their sweet romance. It's a spectacular twisty retelling of Snow White.