My absence from Capturing Joy is a direct reflection of how busy I am. Of course, I wouldn't have it any other way, but I still felt somewhat compelled to post something!
So here's a wrap-up of my last two weeks:

* I'm a winner! Of the best kind...a fantastic book give-away from Hip Writer Mama. Beth Kephart's Undercover is the prize and I can hardly wait to read it. And while we're on the subject of Beth, if you need a little writing inspiration, pop over to her blog. Her posts are exquisite. Sigh.

*I've been feature on SB Parent.com! Check out the spotlight here.

*You all know that by day I'm an art teacher at two elementary schools and every year the sixth grade class does a ceramic mural project. The theme this year is "Children's Literature." Can you believe it? I'm in art/book nirvana!
I can't wait to post the tiles (they'll be done in a month). On Friday, the kids picked their favorite books from elementary school. Some chose picture books and other chose Twilight. Unfortunately, the Twilight books were off limits, so the kids were encouraged to think about all the books from kindergarten through sixth grade that inspired them.
The selections were great fun for me to read. The Giver, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, Series of Unfortunate Events, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Little Engine That Could, Harry Potter, Flush, Green Eggs and Ham, and yes, even Nancy Drew (I promise, I didn't try to sway her the least.)
Stay tuned for pictures!

*Oh, and I got my little garden in. I planted tomatoes, zucchini and herbs. Simple pleasures are what it's all about.